Ninety acres of fertile paddy field land now lie as fallow and uncultivable lands after being severely silted with mining waste in year 2000 floods in Pissurlem village.  Behind the fields lies the Deulem mining pit which is approximately 80 meters deep.  Deulem mine closed its operations in year 2007 without its due restoration according to Mine Closure Policy 2003.  Mining has shut down but the farmers await their compensation and de-siltation of farms and lakes.  Villagers of Pissurlem have proposed to the authorities to provide water to the village from the mining pit for irrigation of the farmlands.  They have asked for a one km pipeline to be laid from the pit to the lake on the other end of the ninety acres of fields in the image.  The water can then be channelized into pre-existing irrigation water system in the fields.  This will initiate a rehabilitation of the surrounding mining affected areas.

Goa is a small state in area but when it comes to ecological diversity, its richer that other states.  In the small state of Goa, there are four eco-regions, namely, Coastal region, Plateau regions, Western Ghats and Alluvial plains.  So, a diverse and wide range of both flora and fauna species are found here.  It is home to Goan endemic species as well as western endemic species.  It’s an important ecological corridor between the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Development activities like mining, tourism, mega-housing have adverse effect on environment fueled by lack of adequate monitoring and control mechanism.  They have severely impacted degradation of land, water and forests.

Mining of ore has an adverse impacts on environment due to the extractive nature of the operations.  It is also a major causes of water pollution.

In Goa mining is done in the plateau region which lies in the catchment zone.  When mining activities are continued below the ground water table, water in adjacent areas migrates into the mining pit.  This lowers the ground water level resulting in the drying of the wells in the villages around mining area.  Also, there are some mines close to river bodies. The base flow getting into the river gets disrupted when the ground water from mining pits is pumped.  Also, river bed may also dry off if the mine is very close.

An aerial view of the Deulem mining pit at Pissurlem.  This mining pit is approximately 80 meters deep.  Deulem mining pit at Pissurlem village closed its operations in year 2007. The mine was  abandoned after the mining operation was over.  Rehabilitation, reclamation and land restoration of the mining pit according to Mine Closure Policy 2003 is still pending.  Meanwhile, villagers of Pissurlem try and find solutions to the grave water crisis they live in everyday.  

Mining has both quantitative and qualitative impact on the water regime of mining and nearby area.  For many decades this damage to the hydrogeological regime cannot be reversed. This has long term effects on the bio- diversity of the area.  The mining pit, if not closed, continues to collect water.  The impounded water is sterile, biologically dead and of not much of a use to village communities because of its sediment load.

A young mine abandoned by the Mining Company after the Supreme Court Order for complete shutdown of mining in Goa in March 2018.  We can see Mother Nature claiming back what belongs to her.  The green cover returning wherever possible and the bleeding red of soils in Goa has finally come to a halt. 

Another mine abandoned in Pissurlem village after Supreme Court Order for complete shutdown of mining in 2018.  This mine too was  abandoned without restoration, rehabilitation and reclamation of the land according to Mine Closure Policy 2003.

An aerial view of Gulliem & Gaval mine at Pissurlem village, an abandoned young iron ore mines in the deforested Sahayadris after the Supreme Court Order for complete shutdown of mining in Goa in March 2018.  No mine in this village has been restored as provided in Mine Closure Policy 2003.  We can see in the image Mother Nature claiming back what belongs to her.  The green cover (mostly weeds) is returning wherever possible and the bleeding red of soils in Goa has finally come to a halt.  Also, in the rear we see Deulem mining pit filled with water in water scarce village of Pissurlem.  The mining pit can easily be mistaken for a large lake from a distance.

Forest cover removed for Mining at Pissurlem Village.  Mining sites are created after clearing the tropical forest cover.  These forests have been called as the lungs of the planet Earth.  

Removal of forest cover and excavation of earth for the ore increases the overall temperature and affects the rainfall pattern too in some period of time.  “Destroying the forest cover is changing the weather condition dramatically here in Goa too”, says environmentalist Ramesh Gauns.  

TERI (1998) concluded in its research that mining activities have affected the river water quality.  High turbidity due to discharge of silt particles with worst effected being rivers of Bicholim, Madei and Khardepur.  Deepening of the mines below the ground water level has resulted in loss of recharge area of the wells and springs.  This has adversely affected the ground water availability in many areas.

Channels of water once supplied water to the fields and the village households.  These channels were fed by many natural perineal springs at Pissurlem village. Now, as the springs and wells have gone dry due to mining below ground water, there is a huge shortage of drinking water and water needed for irrigation.

Mining in Goa has shut down completely after the Supreme Court Order of 2018.  Mining operation has closed down and mines have been abandoned without implementing the Mine Closure Policy, 2003.  According to the policy, closing of a mine is a rehabilitation process which is an ongoing operation to restore and bring physical, chemical and biological quality of that area to an acceptable level.  When a mine is closed, rehabilitation must be done in such a way that it doesn’t burden the society with its impact.  Closure of a mine operation should try to realize a self-sustained society.

Mine Closure Policy, 2003 also states, mining land should be restored, reclaimed and rehabilitated. Mining pit should be restored and left in a condition to be used in future. Care needs to be taken that the ground water and water bodies around the leased mining land are protected from siltation, erosion and sedimentation.  The ground water contamination from leaching should be prevented.  A treatment of acid mine drainage should also be done before the closure of a mine.

If the mining waste cannot be used then stabilization of the overburden (mining waste material) should be done in such a way that leaching of toxic materials (if it may be present in it) into the surface and ground water can be prevented.

An aerial view of Vaghurem Mining pit at Pissurlem village. This mine closed its operation in year 1998.  The mining pit was abandoned without closing the pit.  Vaghurem mining pit is approximately 150 meters deep, I am told.  Today, more than two decades have passed to mining operations shut at Vagurem, the pit still attracts water from neighbouring wells and water bodies making the village of Pissurlem parched and waterless. Villagers have proposed to the authorities to provide water to the village from the mining pit after suitably treating it in water treatment plant. 

An aerial view of the Deulem mining pit at Pissurlem.  Steep manmade mounds of overburden (mining waste)  with a gradient more than 30 degrees lie on the banks of the mining pit filled with water 80 meters deep.  These mounds of poorly stabilized overburden can be upto 50 meters high.  A green cover of weeds have claimed the walls of the sludge in mine.  Restoration of the mine is still pending and the mine attracts all ground water into it. This leads to drying up near by wells and springs. 

An aerial view of the Deulem mining pit at Pissurlem.  This mining pit is approximately 80 meters deep. Behind the blue waters of mine lie the vacant offices of Mining Companies and the fallow 90 acres of fields which have not been cultivated since the floods of year 2000. Siltation of soils of the fields from the mining waste have rendered the soil infertile and fields have turned to waste lands.  In the background are the Sahayadris that house the dense tropical forests.

One of the worst effected village in Goa with acute water shortage is Pissurlem.  This village is completely dependent on water from tankers provided by the government.  Piped water doesn’t have pressure to reach all the houses and has an irregular supply.  Every household has plastic drums kept outside their house for the tankers to fill.  These take care of usual domestic water needs like cooking, cleaning, bathing and drinking purpose.  But villagers complain of their livelihoods being lost as they cannot maintain livestock or indulge in agricultural practices or animal husbandry to earn a living.

Water tanker arrives in the village of Pissurlem.

Street view of Pissurlem Village.  Every household has blue drums which are filled with water from the water tanker coming into the village every day.  Some who could afford have black plastic drums too to store water.  The village has piped water coming for an hour or two but it doesn’t have enough pressure in it to reach all the houses.

The lake that used to supply water to the farms for agriculture purpose and provide water for livestock.  The lake was brimming with life, fishes and crabs 25 years ago.  Now the lake is silted and contains mining rejects rendering water unfit for any purpose and is polluted.

This once a fresh water lake at Pissurlem village used to get its supply of water from the perineal natural spring.  The spring dried up two decades ago as the flow of water was cut off by the mining activity.  Also as the mining activity continued below the ground water level, all wells and springs have dried up.  The lake can be seen contaminated with mining waste, mining silt and weeds.  The villagers demand the lake to be de-silted and returned to its original self as a part of closure of mine.

In 2018, Hanumant Parab, a mining activist and President of Shetkari Sanghtana along with other villagers had filed a petition in the High Court for the restoration of the same. “The Court has directed the Government to re-build the lake and water to be brought from the mining pit. A pipeline of 1 km will be laid down from the closed mining pit to the lake. This water shall be used in farms for agriculture”, said Parab.  

The villagers have also demanded that de-silting of the farms to be conducted.  More that 90 acres of land next to the mining pit has been rendered infertile and converted to a waste barren land due to silting.  In December 2020, a survey and sample collection of the water and land has been done by the five departments, namely, PWD, WRD, Agriculture Dept., Mining Dept. headed by the Mamledar at Pissurlem village.

Ninety acres of fertile paddy field land now lie as fallow and uncultivable lands after being severely silted with mining waste in year 2000 floods in Pissurlem village.  Behind the fields lies the Deulem mining pit which is approximately 80 meters deep.  Deulem mine closed its operations in year 2007 without its due restoration according to Mine Closure Policy 2003.  Mining has shut down but the farmers await their compensation and de-siltation of farms and lakes.  Villagers of Pissurlem have proposed to the authorities to provide water to the village from the mining pit for irrigation of the farmlands.  They have asked for a one km pipeline to be laid from the pit to the lake on the other end of the ninety acres of fields in the image.  The water can then be channelized into pre-existing irrigation water system in the fields.  This will initiate a rehabilitation of the surrounding mining affected areas.

Deulem Mining pit, 80 meters deep at Pissurlem filled with water while the village a few hundred meters away waits for water for irrigation.

The villagers of Pissurlem Village demand regular supply of portable water to be provided as soon as possible.  Presently, 112 plastic tanks have been given to the village households but water is not coming regularly.  They demand 700 tanks to be given to the full village by the government.
 
Also, in pursuit to becoming self-reliant and sustainable the villagers demand a Water treatment Plant to be set up using the water stored in the closed mining pit which is approx. 150m deep as pointed out by Hanumant Parab.  This water can be supplied to other villages too in the mining belt suffering water shortage.  Pissurlem village had beautiful perennial springs flowing with fresh water.  The kharif crop took water from the spring for 4 months.  Growing of Kharif crop stopped 30 years back as the spring dried up with the mining blocking the flow of water into the spring.  Rabi crop also couldn’t be cultivated after the farms got flooded with silt from the mines waterlogging the farms upto 1 meter.  So, the farmlands have not been cultivated at Pissurlem Village for last two decades as informed by President of Shetkari Sanghtana.

Anti-Mining activist, Hanumant Parab from Pissurlem who wants to start farming in his village shows the silted soil which has lost its fertility and water holding capacity.  Since the floods of 2000 and heavy siltation of soil the fields have become infertile and fallow.  No cultivation of these lands has been possible since then.

An image of the land in front to the Village Panchayat, Pissurlem.  A dried up channel of water can be seen which was supplied fresh water from the perineal spring.  This spring like many others in this village went dry many years ago as the mining blocked its supply of water.  The village had many natural springs and was once famous for its paddy yield.  I am told that since the wells and springs dried up the tall coconut trees seen the image are bear no fruits.

Walking with Ramesh Gauns (Goa’s green crusader and pioneering anti-mining activist) and Hanumant Parab (an anti-mining activist from Pissurlem Village) in the dried up fresh water spring at Pissurlem village.  Mining stopped the flow of water into this spring like many other springs.

Speaking to the villagers and their problems at Pissurlem Village along with the Mining activist , Hanumant Parab.  A water tanker arriving can be seen that supplies drinking water to the village.  Every family here in Pissurlem is involved in seeking water as a daily task.  This is not the progressive India we dream of after 74 glorious years of Independent India.

Hanumant Parab, a leading anti-mining activist from Pissurlem village. He is a priest of a temple in Pissurlem, a farmer and owns a dairy farm in Valpoi.  Parab supports sustainable mining where the environment of his village including both biotic and abiotic elements are conserved.  Once water is available to the village, he wants to restart Co-operative Dairy farm in Pissurlem.

Parab is hopeful that once the water is supplied after passing through water treatment plant will enable them to cultivate their fields and re-start Dairy business making the village self-sufficient.  He firmly believes that destroyed bio-diversity of last 40 years will be restored in next 10 years if concrete steps are taken for the same.

Photographs and Text By
Payal Kakkar
(Fine Arts Photographer)
Masters Environment Protection

I am a self-taught fine arts photographer with a keen interest in the environment.  I have worked for many years in the field of sewage and garbage management. My work is slowly evolved and well researched.  My photographs are highly detailed and lyrical in quality.  Aerial  photography has empowered me with a unique perspective to document the colossal impact that humans have on fragile freshwater ecosystem.  With this photo essay I wish to draw a sense of duty towards protection and conservation.