<p>The company dug out wealth in tonnes, but the village that it was named after, suffers in abject poverty to this day. <br /><br />The company carried out rapacious assault on the backyard of the village for its resources, but didn’t spill a speck of its wealth for the development of the village. <br /><br />Obulapuram can neither take credit for the abundance that Reddy flaunted nor for the criminal activities he is accused of.<br /><br />Kannadigas at heart<br /></p>.<p>The village, which is just 17 kms away from Bellary, is a picture in stark contrast with no drinking water facilities or motorable roads. <br /><br />The residents live in thatched huts and lack basic infrastructure facilities.<br /><br />Obulapuram in Hirehala Mandal in Raidurg taluk, Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, has a majority of Kannada-speaking people. The village has a Kannada Primary School and the residents share a strong cultural bond with Karnataka. <br /><br />The village on Bellary-Bangalore Road has a dilapidated railway station, but has only one or two trains passing through the village. <br /><br />It has been neglected by the Andhra Pradesh government and does not get any facilities from the Karnataka government.<br /><br />No job, no land<br /><br />When the mining operations began, a few residents were employed in transporting ore. But now that the mining activities have been halted, even those few residents have lost jobs.</p>.<p>“Despite naming their company after our village, Janardhana Reddy, Srinivasa Reddy and Raidurg legislator Ramachandra Reddy have done nothing for its progress,” says a resident.<br /><br />“Even the cronies of Reddy have become rich now, but the residents of this village continue to remain poor,” he said. <br /><br />Having lost their jobs, now they can’t even cultivate their lands as mine dust has destroyed them. <br /><br />Even if they restore the health of the soil, they don’t have irrigation facilities. Women and men of the village commute to Bellary for daily wages.<br /><br />A woman in the village said: “We only share the shame that has been attached with Obulapuram, nothing else.”</p>
<p>The company dug out wealth in tonnes, but the village that it was named after, suffers in abject poverty to this day. <br /><br />The company carried out rapacious assault on the backyard of the village for its resources, but didn’t spill a speck of its wealth for the development of the village. <br /><br />Obulapuram can neither take credit for the abundance that Reddy flaunted nor for the criminal activities he is accused of.<br /><br />Kannadigas at heart<br /></p>.<p>The village, which is just 17 kms away from Bellary, is a picture in stark contrast with no drinking water facilities or motorable roads. <br /><br />The residents live in thatched huts and lack basic infrastructure facilities.<br /><br />Obulapuram in Hirehala Mandal in Raidurg taluk, Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, has a majority of Kannada-speaking people. The village has a Kannada Primary School and the residents share a strong cultural bond with Karnataka. <br /><br />The village on Bellary-Bangalore Road has a dilapidated railway station, but has only one or two trains passing through the village. <br /><br />It has been neglected by the Andhra Pradesh government and does not get any facilities from the Karnataka government.<br /><br />No job, no land<br /><br />When the mining operations began, a few residents were employed in transporting ore. But now that the mining activities have been halted, even those few residents have lost jobs.</p>.<p>“Despite naming their company after our village, Janardhana Reddy, Srinivasa Reddy and Raidurg legislator Ramachandra Reddy have done nothing for its progress,” says a resident.<br /><br />“Even the cronies of Reddy have become rich now, but the residents of this village continue to remain poor,” he said. <br /><br />Having lost their jobs, now they can’t even cultivate their lands as mine dust has destroyed them. <br /><br />Even if they restore the health of the soil, they don’t have irrigation facilities. Women and men of the village commute to Bellary for daily wages.<br /><br />A woman in the village said: “We only share the shame that has been attached with Obulapuram, nothing else.”</p>
