Impacts of Government Policies on Sustenance of Tribal ... - Samata

expansion <strong>of</strong> the local and migrantpopulation as a result <strong>of</strong> the mining projectis another major problem identified by thepeople. Therefore water related diseases likediarrhoea and skin problems were common.Terminal illnesses like cancer were alsoreported by the community leaders andunion members, although this has to bemedically verified. Of the 18 employed inthe NALCO mines from Putsil village, 10persons have died and the villagers said thatthey had been suffering from cancer asunderstood by them from the reports <strong>of</strong>NALCO hospital. In Janiguda village 30–40cases <strong>of</strong> tuberculosis were detected amongdaily wage labourers, during the study. Thevillage also complained <strong>of</strong> contamination intheir drinking water and how their health isaffected due to this.<strong>Government</strong> health infrastructure consisted<strong>of</strong> one sub-health centre in Goudaguda andAmalabadi each, and one PHC at Damanjodi.Social disturbance and sexualharassmentVillagers have reported 10–15 cases <strong>of</strong>sexual harassment <strong>of</strong> the women from theircommunity. Women walking to the minesites for daily wage work have facedintimidation by migrant labour and truckdrivers. There are a large number <strong>of</strong>destitute women, single mothers, andwidows who with no other source <strong>of</strong>livelihood have been forced into the sextrade in the fringes <strong>of</strong> Damanjodi andMathalput. Also there were at least 100–200HIV/AIDs affected persons but it is difficultto give accurate estimates. Damanjodi hasacquired the reputation <strong>of</strong> being the secondGanjam (a city in Koraput district with highincidence <strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS) in terms <strong>of</strong> HIVcases. Considerable numbers <strong>of</strong> migrantworkers come from Ganjam and the coastalbelt. The social environment <strong>of</strong> the DPcamps has changed from a villagecommunity to a slum community withproblems like alcoholism, domesticviolence, theft and crime being common.Although basic amenities do not exist in DPcamps, liquor is the most easily availablecommodity with liquor shops set up withinthe rehabilitated colonies. In Damanjodi it isno different, and the wages earned by menare directly drained out for alcohol, which isa cause for domestic violence, frequentbrawls and physical abuse on women.Children, especially from the adivasicommunity are exposed to this degeneratesocial order, where violence, poverty anddestitution are the realities.The impacts are magnified in the case <strong>of</strong>women. Women who were once selfemployedand contributing to agriculturalproduction are today reduced to the status <strong>of</strong>manual workers. Loss <strong>of</strong> common propertyland had manifold impacts on women whowere the primary utilisers <strong>of</strong> theseresources. The DP Camps do not providethe space or the protection that the womenhad in their villages, and are exposed tohigher levels <strong>of</strong> domestic violence. Thecompensation and rehabilitation process wasgender blind and this is evident from thelowered status <strong>of</strong> women both within theconfines <strong>of</strong> their house in DP camps and intheir destitution and helplessness in society.The struggle continues for them and a hugeprotest rally was taken out by the affectedfamilies in 2009 to demand for inclusion <strong>of</strong>women-headed households in therehabilitation among the PAPs.What the communities lostBefore the commencement <strong>of</strong> mining andother developmental projects, the region hadvast natural resources on which the adivasisdepended for their survival. Thickdeciduous forests and fertile agriculturallands covered the area. The adivasiscultivated two crops a year on rainfedcultivation on a subsistence basis to meettheir needs <strong>of</strong> food security. The entirefamily worked on the agricultural lands as asingle unit sharing the produce. Collection63