Why Musaboni copper mines revival a poll issue since 1997

Even in the hustle bustle of the peak poll season, an eerie calm welcomes you in the daily market of the copper township of Musaboni. The shopkeepers here, like any other day, have no option but to wait throughout the day for their first customer to step in. This saga started after the closure of six flourishing copper mines in Ghatshila belt, around 45 km from Jamshedpur in undivided Bihar on 1 December 1997, say locals.
Earlier, Musaboni was a flourishing town after Jamshedpur, as people from all over the country and neighbouring country Nepal worked in the country’s oldest copper mines run by the Hindustan Copper Limited.
“In the early 90s, over 7,000 families resided in company quarters, most of which were either abandoned or illegally captured by people. Many of these are now dens of criminal activities, including cyber crime,” said Raghu Hansda, a truck driver who lives in Nurse Lines.
Raghu, who, too, lives in one such illegally occupied quarter, told , “Life is very difficult here with erratic electricity and water supply as most of the handpumps are defunct. For politicians, Musaboni is a poll issue which they use to milk in form of votes but no one is interested in people’s welfare.The area has no medical facilities as the lone hospital run by mines management has been shut down since the late 90s.”
Living in a leaking roof and plaster-peeled off walled house in New Colony, Samuel Ekka, once a foreman in the mines said, “It is technically impossible to revive any of the six copper mines including the one at Musaboni. In 1997, when the decision was taken to shut the mines, it was already 1230 metre deep and raw material after mining was not economically feasible in the market. Moreover post-liberalisation in the country during Congress' Narasimha Rao govt, raw copper imported from off shores was comparatively of lesser cost that mined here, which made the mines here a sick unit.”
Ekka said,"JMM after Modi's rally at Moubhandar on May 19 is trying to corner BJP over the opening of mines here but they must remember it was Third Front govt then led by PM Inder Kumar Gujral, which decided to shut mines here. JMM was part of that govt formation along with Congress.”
He said, "The area lacks all kinds of civic amenities and educational institutions. Young generation after class 12 have to shift to bigger cities for higher studies and then jobs."
Bansilal, who runs a grocery shop in the market for two generations said,"The major buyers are after mines closed are mostly paramilitary jawans who have been camping here for nearly two decades due to the Maoist problem in the region but in the last 10 years there has been considerable dip in violence, so in a phased manner they are being shifted elsewhere by the authorities. This will further dent our economy."
Meanwhile, after PM did not say anything about closed mines in Ghatshila belt, JMM's candidate Samir Kumar Mohanty pitted against BJP's Bidyut Baran Mahato, has made this a poll issue. JMM's general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya too has lambasted BJP and Modi for his silence over the issue which is languishing for years.