ISSN 2455-4782 JADUGORA: INDIA’S BEST KEPT SECRET (A CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON THE SOCIO-LEGAL ASPECT: HARMFUL EFFECTS OF THE URANIUM MINING ACTIVITY ON TRIBALS) Authored by: Pradipty Bhardwaj* * Final year LLB student, Symbiosis Law School, Pune ______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION ‘Tribals’ are those indigenous people who are still not influenced by the modern lifestyle. The tribals of India are usually termed as ‘Adivasis’. As per 2011 census, 8.6% of the total India’s population comprises of tribals. They are more prominent in the states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and North -East states. And depending upon the tradition, culture, lifestyle and language the names of their tribe vary. For example: Santhals, Khasi, Munda, Bhutia, Bhils, Angami, Gonds, Chenchus etc. These ethnic people are known for possessing traditional knowledge about the nature which plays a vital role in the protection and conservation of Environment. Because of this reason it is said that the Adivasis lives in harmony with the nature. BACKGROUND One such nightmare for Santhals and Mundas is a story which no story teller talks about. Mundas are those Adivasi Ethnic groups who are located in village Jadugora in the Singhbhum district of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Jadugora is place which is surrounded by hills and rivers. There is abundance of diverse species of flora and fauna coupled with rich tribal culture. Long back in 1960s when a nuclear project was proposed in this region, the Department of Atomic Energy kept it as a secret. State-run Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL) licensed by the Government of India; was formed to mine the highest quality of Uranium which was particularly found in this region. This also came to be known as the first Uranium Mine in India with the highest quality of Uranium. 85 | P a g e JOURNAL ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF LAW [JCIL] VOLUME 4 ISSUE 4 ISSN 2455-4782 During that time, the establishment of UCIL was very easy for the government, firstly because of the remote location of the site, which kept away the eagle’s eye of the monitoring authorities. And secondly, the Mundas and Santhals who were residents of the village were illiterate. They were only fascinated with the concept of Urbanization of their village. Besides, UCIL promised them the medical facilities, firm jobs, schools, roads and other infrastructure developmental activities, as a result of which they failed to see the dark side of the upcoming nuclear project. The lands of the Tribals were acquired, but they were not told about the hazardous nature of the element which was going to be mined. In this way they got trapped into the web of unjust power of the government. THE MINING PROCESS The concentrated deposits of Uranium (ores) are usually found in sandstone and hard rock, which are covered deep inside the earth. In order to extract these ores, at first the land in Jadugora is dug out, which is called mining. The extracted ore is sent to the mill, where the chemical elements are separated from the waste rock. This step is known as milling. After refining the ore into ‘yellow cake’, huge quantity of radioactively contaminated scrap is produced. In order to dispose this, the sludge is sent to the tailing ponds in the nearby area which contains almost 85% of the initial radioactivity of the ore. ‘Yellow Cake’ is the end product of this plant. For further processing of the uranium it is sent to the NFC (Nuclear Fuel Complex) in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. RESULT OF MINING ACTIVITY As long as the Uranium is buried into the earth, it’s not harmful. But the moment it is extracted through mining, the radiation starts and enters the body of the humans and harms the surrounding environment too. UCIL needed manpower to go down deep into the earth to extract Uranium and bring up to the surface. For this UCIL promised the villagers various facilities, such as: schools, roads, jobs, medical facilities etc. UCIL remained successful in impressing the locals with high technology and the importance of the project. These workers while working in mines were exposed to the radiation for long period of time and no protective measures were taken. The workers ate 86 | P a g e JOURNAL ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF LAW [JCIL] VOLUME 4 ISSUE 4 ISSN 2455-4782 contaminated food, inhaled Uranium and worked with no protective clothing. On returning back to their homes in the evening their contaminated clothes were handled by the other members of the house, which lead to the secondary contamination. If we talk about the tailing pond in the area, which was supposed to dispose of the sludge, was not efficiently and technologically made, as it always overflowed during monsoons and the seepage also contaminated the ground water. The moment the villagers used the downstream river (Narwapahar) water for bathing, washing, and irrigation etc, the poisoning by Uranium starts. This contaminated Uranium also enters the food chain when highly radioactive grasses, crops fruits, fishes etc. are consumed by animals or humans. Hence, this created a devastating effect on the ecosystem. When the mining activities began in 1967, UCIL failed to install the symbol of ‘Trefoil’ to warn the people against radioactivity in the nearby areas. But in certain places where it was successfully installed, it failed to be of any use to uneducated villagers and children. The women continued using the downstream water for bathing, sowing, irrigation; washing etc which contained the radioactive uranium seeped through the overflowing tailing ponds during monsoon. The children kept on playing with the mud and sand which contained the processed ore which spilled on the road from the trucks which transported the ore from the mine area to the railway station for further transportation. Even though the Tribals were employed, but their life on working as a laborer was even more miserable. They were subjected to radiation for longer period without any protective layer of clothing. After finishing the work when they returned back to their home, their contaminated clothes were handled and washed by the other members of family, which lead to the secondary contamination. By the consumption of contaminated water and crops grown in the region the harmful radiation entered the body and ecology. The result of this was slowly seen after 40 years as loss of heath, babies born with deformities, disease, deaths and environmental degradation. Hence, the primary threat to human occurs when these radioactive elements enter the public water supplies or when the radon gas is inhaled by the villagers. Genetic Mutations can be passed on to the child, on being exposed to gamma radiations coming from the elements present in tailing ponds. If all the international safety standards are not complied with then it’s very difficult to save the people living in the vicinity from the health hazard. 87 | P a g e JOURNAL ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF LAW [JCIL] VOLUME 4 ISSUE 4 ISSN 2455-4782 SOME EXAMPLES Despite, the fear of contract killing on visiting Jadugora for inspection on this matter, some of the social activists have successfully been able to meet and interact with the local villagers. On meeting they discovered that the people living in the surrounding areas suffer from skeletal distortions, swollen heads, blood disorders etc. Some of the instances can be summarized as follows:- “Sanjay Gope, could move normally as a toddler until seizures began to wring the life from his arms and legs. Now, he’s left to crawl around the ground like a snake. His older sister, Sunita, experienced a similar collapse. Her limbs grew so deformed that she couldn’t feed or bathe herself before she died at the age of 13. Rakesh Gope, a member of Sanjay’s tribe, attempts to wave but his hands only flap in a spastic flurry. He’s another 10-year-old unable to walk on his own.”1 Amita Bhaduri2 has rightly said that, it’s high time the government must take measures to solve the harmful effects of radiations in Jadugora so that the generation is not left crippled. In her article she gave the example of “the body of Guria Das, which looked like that of a three-year-old when she passed away at the age of 13. Guria was unable to speak or move and was able to communicate through gestures. By 2012, Guria’s bone structure was deteriorating and the local doctors gave up hope and she lost her life”3 Source: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/mines-radiate-disaster 1 “Dying kids in Jharkhand’s Jadugora uranium mines and a mystery”, Available on: http://www.livemint.com/Politics/XIPI9uChfRaHeKpFu2GhiK/Dying-kids-in-Jhakhands-Jadugora-uranium-mines- and-a-myste.html (Accessed on: 4th January, 2018) 2 Author, who writes for India Water Portal, a website that shares knowledge and builds communities around water and related issues in India 3 “Mines Radiate Disaster”, Available on: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/mines-radiate-disaster (Accessed on: 4th January, 2018) 88 | P a g e JOURNAL ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF LAW [JCIL] VOLUME 4 ISSUE 4 ISSN 2455-4782 Another example of the effect of uranium mines was seen on Manav Rajak who “is one of the few children who survived. He is crippled and moves around merrily in his electric wheelchair. His father says that his requests to UCIL to rehabilitate his son have fallen on deaf ears. “I find it difficult to endure Manav’s suffering caused from his condition,” says Manav’s father.” Source: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/mines-radiate-disaster Mr.