KGF(KOLAR) : RID of any industry worth the name right in Bengaluru’s backyard, Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), internationally famous now with the boxoffice hit KGF Chapter 2, has seen its population driving their children to higher education, so they can get lucrative jobs elsewhere.
Sixty-five-year-old V Palani, who once worked as a labourer at Bharat Gold Mines Ltd (BGML), which closed down in 2001, has two sons and a daughter, and all three of them are doublegraduates, now working with private firms in Bengaluru.
All three have to travel 100 km to Bengaluru to their workplaces from KGF— also known as “Little England” — and it’s a daily affair. “We neither have farm lands nor money to invest in any business. We do not have any ancestral property, although we worked in the gold mines. All that we did was to give education to our children, make them self-reliant,’’ explains Palani, who points to his region which offers next to nothing for sustenance.
Kids given better education to find jobs elsewhere
The two reel life sequels of the KGF movies have earned in crores (the recently released KGF Chapter 2 alone crossing Rs 1,000 crore), but people in the real KGF, despite good education, struggle to get lucrative jobs in their own region. Most of the households in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) reflect and echo Palani’s story.
Every day, people in thousands travel from their homes in KGF (with a population of about 2.5 lakh) to Bengaluru. Most of them work as bank managers, advocates, software engineers, accountants, supervisors, human resources profesisonals, besides many among them working at BHEL, HAL, Railway Coach Factory and other industries in Bengaluru.
After BGML shut in 2001, thousands of workers were rendered jobless in KGF. The only big industry present there is Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), which employs people from outside of KGF, but not locals. This has forced the local population to give better education to their children so they can move out in search of lucrative opportunities.
Almost all prefer to return to their home in “Little England” even if they have to travel long distances. At the tiny houses with sheet roofs at West Gilbert Block in KGF — which were constructed as quarters for labourers — elderly people including those who used to work with BGML once upon a time, stay at home, while their children work in Bengaluru. Karunakaran, a retired labourer of BGML, has two children. While the son has completed MSc in Biotechnology, daughter has done BE.
Both work in Bengaluru. “During the lockdown, they worked from home,’’ he says. His neighbour Ravikumar says there are at least 100 houses in West Gilbert Block, each with at least two to three graduates and postgraduates. Some houses houses even have five. “After BGML shut, we only have BEML, which has people across the country working there.
We need industries here. KGF is like Kerala, we not just stress on literacy, but aim at higher education,’’ he added. The couple, Sarangapani and Sheela, have two daughters. Both studied well, became double graduates — one even working at Kendriya Vidyalaya teaching high school students. “Daughters or sons, it does not matter. What matters is good education,’’ Sheela says. The KGF residents pray that the state government brings their home region under the scanner to invite industries to set up shop there so their much-qualified children can get lucrative jobs within easier reach.
KGF HISTORY
The history of gold mines at KGF dates back to the Chola dynasty (3 BC). A few Chola inscriptions and scriptures mention mining activities. Later, during Vijayanagar dynasty, 1336 to 1646, mining was done. But it was during Tipu Sultan’s time (1750 to 1799) that an attempt was made with French geologists’ help to extract gold from the Kolar pits.
After Tipu’s death, British Captain Warren learnt about gold here. Systematic excavation began only in 1880 with John Taylor and Sons for the next 60 years. Post-Independence, the government of India decided to nationalise all mines, but KGF was handed over to the Mysuru government in 1956. Since then, it is has provided over 900 tonnes of gold.
In 1972, it became Bharat Gold Mines Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Mines. Over time, gold reserves started declining and in March 2001, it was shut. There were over 30,000 workers working their in its heyday, but only 3,500 when it shut in 2001. KGF is one of the deepest mines in the world, at a depth of 3,000 metres. The mines were also pledged to the World Bank as security for a loan under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s tenure.
With KGF Chapter 2 emerging as a major box-office hit, having raked in over Rs 1,000 crore since its April 14 release, film buffs have been celebrating its success across the world wherever it has been screened. But little is known about the real KGF (Kolar Gold Fields) which reels under deficiencies despite the vast potential the region offers to take it back to its days of glory, albeit in a different role. The New Sunday Express, in a three-part series, looks at what is wrong with the town and what can be done to utilise the potential offered by KGF.