Hyderabad Nov. 13: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the Surveyor-General of India to locate the Great Trigonometrical Station (GTS) between Obulapuram and Hirehal villages in Anantapur district within a week.

From P M Raghunandan, DH News Service, Sandur (Bellary dt):
The lure for lucre from the then lucrative mining business, has now thrown thousands of small farmers in the iron ore-rich Bellary district out of their traditional vocation

From P M Raghunandan, DH News Service, Bellary:

All good things come to an end. It is same for Bellary mining too. As long as China imported iron ore, Bellary mining lords became richer and richer. In fact, many became super rich overnight. Now it is slump time.

From Ramesh Jahgirdar,DH News Service,Bellary:

Sluggish demand for ores in the international market has cast its spell on the thriving ore industry in the district. Even as mining companies are contemplating retrenchment of labourers, the luxurious life style of mining millionaires, concomitantly, has took a beating.

Bangalore, DHNS:

The Ganigarike Rashtriya Horata Samiti (GRHS) on Thursday demanded a CBI probe into the alleged illegal mining activities in Karnataka by Andhra Pradesh-based Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by G Janardhan Reddy, Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure Development.

Police action: Former Minister M. Diwakar Babu and mine owner Tapal Ganesh (right) being taken away by policemen at Tumti in Sandur Taluk on Sunday.

BELLARY: The former Minister and Congress leader M. Diwakar Babu and Tapal Ganesh of TNR Mines were arrested on Sunday for defying prohibitory orders and attempting to resume mining at Tumti village in Sandur taluk of Bellary district.

SMART CARDS PART III
Rakesh Prakash & Bishnu Dash / Bangalore/bhubaneswar September 03, 2008, 1:16 IST

Farm workers swiping biometric cards to receive their daily wages is all set to become a reality in Orissa and Karnataka villages. Both states are ready to distribute smart cards to ensure transparency in the disbursal of social security pension and payment of wages under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.

DH News Service, Bellary:

A complaint has been lodged against Obalapuram Mining Company, belonging to Tourism and Infrastructure Development Minister G Janardhan Reddy, alleging encroachment of mining areas belonging to others, assaulting, and issuing threats to life.

T Ganesh of TNR Mines has alleged that the personnel of Obalapuram Company forcibly entered the mining area belonging to him in Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border area and assaulted the workers there.

By Asha Krishnaswamy, DH News Service, Bangalore:

The satellite images, which are part of the Lokayukta report on the mining activities in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts, indicate that there is rampant illegal mining by many companies.

The images are given by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad and processed as well as analysed by Karnataka State Remote Sensing Application Centre (KSRSAC).

DH News Service, Bangalore:

In a landmark judgement, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday ordered a total ban on mining activities in forest areas.

Hearing a petition by MSPL Ltd, a Hospet-based mining firm, questioning the mining lease issued by the state government to a private company on March 15, 2003, Justice Shylendra Kumar quashed the lease. The Court observed that the State had neglected the Forest Conservation Act 1983 and Karnataka Forest Act 1963 while issuing the notification, and suggested nationalisation of mining activities.