INDIA:
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By Dayamani Barla
(Translated by Vidya Jonnalagadda)
More information: http://www.jadugoda.net

SPONTANEOUS ABORTIONS IN 45 OF EVERY 100 WOMEN,

CHILDREN ARE DYING; MOST ARE BECOMING PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY HANDICAPPED.

The soil of Jadugoda in the Jharkhand

In the region of the uranium mines, in villages such as
Chatikocha, Dumardeeh, Telaitaand, Echada, Bhatin, and
Lipighututu, 45 of every hundred women are suffering from
spontaneous abortions.

The children are dying. Most of the children are becoming physically and mentally handicapped.

People are not living beyond 65 years of age. No one wants to
marry the girls from this area. The girls who did get married
are being abandoned for their inability to bear children. Under
the influence of radioactivity, physical malformations, cancer
and pulmonary diseases are assuming demonic dimensions.
region has provided uranium to run the Atomic Energy program in
the country and develop Nuclear capabilities, but the Santhal
aadivasis of this region are dying a slow death by uranium
radiation.

Women visited Telaitaand on July eight to see and hear for
themselves the misery of the women affected by uranium
radiation. The ailing from the affected villages of Chatikocha,
Maatigoda, and Tireel related their woes to the members of the
Commission for two and a half hours.

For the first time, a team from National Commission for Ghanshyam Biruli told the Commission members that the simple
folk of the village are not even aware of the fact that
radiation emanates from the Tailing Pond. He added that most of
the babies born are deformed. People from other villages do not
want to marry the girls from the affected villages. Those who
were married but did not beget children have been abandoned.

These women do not want to marry again for the fear that the
next husband too might dump them if they cannot have children.
such diseases here”. Of Mado’s five children, three have died.

Marang Bhai of Tilaitaand was married 10 years ago. Marang Bhai
told that she had conceived once, but the fetus aborted at five
months. After that, she has never conceived. Her husband left
her as she did not have a child. She has returned to her
parents’ home. Three children of Sumitra Soren have died: one
within 24 hours of birth, the other two immediately after birth.
The fourth child was born ill. The entire skull of the baby is
soft and it has other health problems.

Both members of the Commission listened intently to the anguish of the women.

There was a long line of women wanting to share their pain

Mrs. Saaro had completed 20 years of marriage to Mangal Maanzi
but did not have children. Since Saaro did not bear children,
Mangal married again, this time to Dumani. But his luck did not
change. He did not beget a child from his second wife either.
Mangal Maanzi is employed in the UCIL (Uranium Council of India
Ltd.) mines.

Budhani Bera of Dumurdeeh had an abortion in the ninth month of
her first pregnancy. Her second pregnancy ended with an abortion
in the eighth month of pregnancy. She has a child of four years,
who is always unwell.

Simotee Maandi was married in Beerigoda. She told that her first
child was stillborn. After that she has not conceived.

Mrs. Dhanumati has two children. She told that both the children
and she herself are perpetually unwell.

Mrs. Taramani told that UCIL had annexed six acres of their land
and they had not received any compensation to date.

General of UCIL, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rahul Kumar, and
Dr. Khan, refuted the claims that there was any kind of adverse
health effect on the people due to radiation from uranium. They
dismissed the notion that there is any connection between health
and radiation.

The officials of UCIL said, “Safety measures are followed one hundred percent of the time”.
Indicating the Tailing Pond under construction in Telaitaand,
Ghanshyam Biruli asked the officials, “Is this region safe?” In
response the officials quipped, “There is no relationship
between this (health problems) and that (the Pond)”.

Asking the officials, “What is your policy regarding the
abortions, child deaths and malformations?” The officials
replied, “We will visit the villages and assess the health of
the inhabitants”. Highlighting their paperwork, the officials
announced, “We have visited villages and collected blood samples
from around three thousand people. The reports for these not yet
completed”.

Boiling with anger at this, 33-year old Dumaka Murmoo demanded,
“When did the Health Officials come to the villages to survey
the health of the residents, when did they gather material for
the survey? Not a single person for the villages knows about
this!”

The team members queried, “According to you, what are the guidelines for the distance from the Tailing Pond at which the displaced can be resettled?” In response, they said, “One and a half kilometers”, whereas in reality, displaced families are living in homes constructed just below the Tailing Pond. In addition, despite opposition from the people, another Tailing Pond is under construction right adjacent to the village in Telaitaand.
. . . . . .
Sister Anna and Ajita were also a part of the Commission team. The team had reached Jadugoda under the leadership of reporter (Ms.) Vaasavi.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 03 April 2007 )
About Dayamani Barla

“Tribals are becoming a minority in their own state!”
Jharkhand, a natural resource, mineral -rich region is sadly,
also ‘rich’ in the ways and kinds of exploitation against tribal
societies that live in these regions. Dayamani Barla’s is an inspiring story of a tribal woman who decided to stand up and campaign for issues that continue to erase, erode and impoverish tribal societies in Jharkhand in the name of development.

Dayamani, educated at the Ranchi University, has been writing articles in Hindi in regular newspapers and magazines like Prabhat Khabhar for the last ten years. Her writings powerfully articulate the exploitation faced by tribal communities, especially women. She strongly believes that by taking the voices of the tribal communities to the common public on issues of tribal women’s empowerment, health, local self-governance and on Government’s Tribal policies, common people can be made aware of the real situations on the ground and thus participate and influence development policies in the right direction.

She has been a powerful campaigner working shoulder-to-shoulder with the community on different issues ranging from eviction of tribals due to the Koel Karo Project, hazards of Uranium mining to forced prostitution of tribal women.

A recipient of the Counter Media Award for better rural journalism(2000) and the National Foundation for India Fellowship (2004), Dayamani runs a local tea-shop for a regular living which she claims is also one of the best places to listen to the ‘voices of the people’!

Facts you should know about uranium mining and milling
http://www.jadugoda.net/htm/FAQ.html