JOIN USA 'pilgrimage' to stop pilferage
Only when they reached the entrance to the Belekeri port and flashed their identity cards, it became clear to those at the port that they were officials who were there to probe the illegal transport of ore to the port and subsequent export, much to the chagrin of workers of various companies.
While employees of some of the firms escaped, others who could not flee gave the officials the information and the documents which were sought.
By now, it was clear to Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer U V Singh and his team of officials that ore was being illegally transported from Bellary district to the Belekeri and Karwar ports in Uttara Kannada district.
After the government handed over investigation into illegal mining to the Lokayukta, Singh’s team used to arrive in Uttara Kannada district and check the permits of the ore-laden lorries lined up on the roads, only to find them to be fake. The permits would then be seized.
The Lokayukta team raided both the ports on March 10, 2010, and seized ore weighing eight lakh tonnes and worth Rs 2,500 crore. The seized ore was handed over to the custody of the port officer.
Subsequently, it came to light on June 6 that five lakh tonnes of the seized ore had gone missing. The Assistant Conservator of Forests of the Ankola division filed a complaint in the Ankola police station against Mallikarjuna Shipping, the Belekeri port officer, Adani Company, Salgaonkar Mines, ILP, Ashapura Limited, TGS, Doddannanavar Brothers, Rajmahal, Swastik Steels, Lakshmi Venkateshwara Minerals and Metacom Company.
The issue of illegal export of ore had created a storm in the State politics. The Opposition parties had demanded that the inquiry into the case should be handed over to the CBI. But the State government preferred the CID. With the issue of illegal ore trade becoming the hot topic of discussion, the trade was suspended temporarily.
Ore export from the Belekeri port started in 2003. While 96,069 metric tonnes (MT) of ore was exported in 2003, the figures for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 were 8.1 lakh MT, 14.78 lakh MT, 40.54 lakh MT, 60.84 lakh MT, 20.13 lakh MT and 62.35 lakh MT respectively. A total of 62.35 lakh MT of ore was exported from the port over a period of seven years.