Kolar Gold Fields

Kolar Gold Fields (KGF)
ಕೋಲಾರ ಗೋಲ್ಡ್ ಫೀಲ್ಡ್ಸ್
கோலார் தங்க புலங்கள், కోలారు బంగారు గనులు
town

Champion Reef mine shaft at KGF
Kolar Gold Fields (KGF)

Location in Karnataka, India

Coordinates: 12°57′42″N 78°16′15″E / 12.961736°N 78.270721°E / 12.961736; 78.270721Coordinates: 12°57′42″N 78°16′15″E / 12.961736°N 78.270721°E / 12.961736; 78.270721
Country  India
State Karnataka
District Kolar district
Government
 • Body Robertsonpet city municipal council
Area
 • Total 58.12 km2 (22.44 sq mi)
Elevation 265 m (869 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 1,63,643
 • Density 2,800/km2 (7,300/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official kannada
 • Spoken Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam
Languages
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 563115 -563122
Telephone code 08153
Vehicle registration KA 08
Nearest city Bangalore, Kolar
Lok Sabha constituency kolar
Vidhan Sabha constituency K.G.F.
Avg. summer temperature 32 °C (90 °F)
Avg. winter temperature 12 °C (54 °F)
Website http://www.robertsonpetcity.gov.in

K.G.F or Kolar Gold Fields is a mining town in Bangarpet Taluk, in the Kolar District of Karnataka state, India. It includes the township of the same name, viz. KGF, where reside mainly the families of the employees of Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) and BEML (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited). KGF is about 30 kilometers from Kolar and 100 kilometers from Bangalore. To the east of KGF is a ridge of hills of which Dod Betta hill, 3195 feet above sea level. The town was known for gold mining for over a century, which was eventually closed on 2001 due to low level of gold production.

History

Early history of the Kolar Gold Fields was compiled by Rev. Fred Goodwill, Superintendent of the Wesleyan Tamil Mission, Bangalore and Kolar Gold Fields. His studies and observations have been published in the quarterly journals of the Mythic Society and other academic journals.[1][2][3]

In about the second century the Gangas founded Kolar and as long as they were in power, for nearly a thousand years, they took the title 'Kuvalala-Puravareshwara' (the Lord of Kolar) even after they had shifted their capital to Talakadu. From Kolar, and later from Talakadu, the Gangas ruled over Gangavadi comprising the southern districts of the Kannada people. Tradition has it that Gangeya, the progenitor of the Gangas, was succeeded by 18 kings the second last being Kolahala who built the city in the 'great Gangavadi vishaya'. Another account relates to the Satasringa parvata (or 100 peaks) in Kolar where Renuka and Parasu Rama lived and Parasu Rama slayed Kartaviryarjuna to avenge his father and get back Surabhi the cow of plenty. The kolahala or " shouting" consequent to this feat is said to have given the town its name. The Gangas occupied the entire Kolar district from the 2nd century till the 11th century. The records are clear that Kolar came under Chola rule in 1004 for the first time.In accordance with their usual system, the Cholas gave the name Nikarilichola-mandala to the District. In around 1117 AD the Hoysalas under Vishnuvardhana captured Talakad and among his conquests he captured Kolar and drove the Cholas from Mysore state. On the death of Somesvara, in 1254, a partition of Hoysala dominions took place between his two sons, and the Kolar district was included with the Tamil provinces to the share of Ramanatha. The next king, Ballala III however reunited the Hoysala dominions.

According to the Archaeological Survey of India, the Kolaramma Temple at Kolar existed at least from the time of the Cholas from an epigraph that mentions a grant to the temple by Rajaraja and another that mentions the construction of a mandapa by Rajendra Chola I. The most outstanding example of art in the Kolaramma temple is the slab depicting a battle scene, now placed on the front platform of the entrance. It is a Viragal (heroic stone) belonging to Ganga period and is covered with relief work of horses, elephants, soldiers, celestial nymphs and celestial cars.

Kolar is much older than Bangalore, its origin going back to the 2nd century AD. Gangas who came from North India, made Kolar their capital and ruled over Mysore, Coimbatore, Salem and Trave. In the 13th Century AD, Sage Bhavanandi composed his treatise on Tamil grammar Nannool at the Ulagamadhi cave at KGF, under the patronage of Seeya Gangan one of the Ganga rulers who was born in Kolar and was a patron of arts and literature. Further Seeya Gangan's inscriptions indicate that Kolar regained control of Kolar for the second time from Chola hands.

During the reign of the Cholas, King Uththama Chola (970 AD) is said to have built the temple for Goddess Renuka, in the avatar of Kolaahalamma and found the city of Kolaahalapuram. Local tradition indicates that the city was named after this deity of Kolaahalama. The Chola rulers Veera Chola, Vikrama Chola and Raja Nagendra Chola erected stone structures with inscriptions ar Avani, Mulbagal, Sitti Bettta and other places. Chola inscriptions also indicate the rule of Adithya Chola I (871-907 AD), Raja Raja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I over Kolar. These inscriptions refer to Kolar as 'Nikarili Cholamandalam' and also as 'Jayam Konda Chola Manadalam'. Inscriptions of Rajendra Chola I also appear on the Kolaramma Temple. Many Siva temples were built in Kolar during the reign of the Cholas, such as the Someshwarar Temple at Maarikuppam Village, Sri Uddhandeshwari Temple at Maarikuppam Village, the Eswaran Temple at Oorugaumpet, the Sivan Temple at Madivala Village. The reign of the Cholas over Kolar lasted till 1116 AD. Sadly the Chola inscriptions scattered all over Kolar lie neglected, and some subject to wilful cultural vandalism. According to B. Lewis Rice, this story is evidently based on some confused reminiscence of certain names and historical events. From the records of the period we know that the Cholas subverted the power of the Gangas by the capture of Talakad in about 1004, and speedily possessed themselves of all the south and east of Mysore. The important city of Kolahala, or Kolar, thus became subject to them, together with the whole of the present Kolar District.

In 1117 AD, Kolar came under the reign of the Hoysalas, and in 1254 AD the dominions were portioned among the two sons of King Someshwara, with Kolar included in the Tamil provinces that went to Ramanatha. The next king, Ballala III, however reunited the Hoysala dominions.

The Hoysala were defeated by the Vijaynagar Kingdom, and their rule over Kolar lasted from 1336-1664. During their reign the Sri Someshwara Temple at Kolar was built. During this time, in 1418 Thimme Gowda of the Morasu Vokkalu clan struck a treaty with the Vijayanagar Kings and ruled the Kolar District. His successors ruled for over four generations. According to the British records the lands to the east of Mysore in Mysore state and some adjacent lands in the Madras constituency were traditionally known as Morasu Nadu. According to some artifacts discovered by the government of Tamil Nadu, Morasu Nadu existed since the Sangam ages and included Hosur.

In the 17th Century, Kolar came under Maratha rule as part of the Jahagir of Shahaji for fifty years. Then under Muslim rule for seventy years. In 1720 AD, Kolar came under the Suba of Sira, with Fateh Mohammed, the father of Hyder Ali becoming the Faujdar of the province. After this Kolar passed thorugh different reigns such as Marathas, the Nawab of Cuddapah, Nizam of Hyderabad and finally Hyder Ali. In 1768, Kolar came under British rule briefly till 1770, then passed briefly again to Maratha rule and again Hyder Ali. In 1791 Lord Cornwallis conquered Kolar, before passing it back to Mysore under the peace treaty of 1792. Kolar has been part of the Mysore State since that time.

Around the Kolar region, there are numerous inscriptions which indicate reign of the Mahavalis (Baanaas), Pallavas and Vaidumbaas, at different points of time.[1][2][3][4] Benjamin Lewis Rice recorded 1347 inscriptions in the Kolar District, in the 10th volume of Epigraphia Carnatica. Out of these inscriptions 422 are in Tamil, 211 in Telugu and the rest are in Kannada[5]

History of Gold Mining at KGF

The tradition of mining gold at Kolar started at least as early as the first millennium BC with linkages to the Indus Valley civilization. Golden objects found in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro have been traced to KGF through an impurities-analysis assay, as the impurities include 11% silver concentration, found only in KGF ore. Pliny, a Roman historian who passed in this area in 77 C.E., wrote about gold and silver mines.[6] The Champion reef at the Kolar gold fields was mined to a depth of 50 meters during the Gupta period in the fifth century A.D. Subsequently, the metal continued to be mined during the Chola period in the 9th and 10th century AD, the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565, and later by Tipu Sultan, the leader of Mysore state. The scale of the operations grew at each stage by the digging of small to large pits.

Renewed interest in the Kolar gold fields occurred towards the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1802, John Warren, a British surveyor set up a camp to explore the possibility of mining gold in the Kolar region.[7] The ancient gold workings, other workings which may have been 200 to 600 years old and the workings of Tipu Sultan were all located by Captain Warren in 1802. In 1873, M.F. Lavelle, an Irish soldier who returned from New Zealand after fighting Maori war and settled in Bangalore, applied to the Mysore Government for the exclusive privilege of mining in the Kolar district.[6] His request was granted and he commenced operations by sinking a shaft near Uirgam (Oorgaum) in 1875, but, finding that large capital would be required, in the following year and with the approval of the government, Lavalle transferred all his rights and concessions to Major General G. de la Poer Beresford. General Beresford formed a syndicate known as the Kolar Concessionaries which took up the matter in earnest, and gradually acquired most of the area now known as the Kolar Gold Fields. However, large-scale mining only came in the 1890s under the British firm John Taylor & Company which did much of the prospecting and mining with more skilled manpower and sophisticated machinery.

The principal mines in the Gold Fields starting with Michael F. Lavelle in 1864 to the mines developed by John Taylor & Company up to 1905 were:

Later, after 1956, BGML amalgamated the Champion and Mysore mines and started the Yeppamana and Old Baisanathan Mines.

The mines were taken over by the Government of Mysore in 1956 and by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in 1962. They were handed over to the government company called Bharat Gold Mines Limited under the Ministry of Mines in 1972. The Bharat Gold Mines Limited has thus come out of various combinations and permutations. The company has the record of having Morarji Desai as its chairman (when it was with the Finance Ministry) and some of the erstwhile chief Ministers of Mysore State (when it was with the government of Mysore).

The gold mines of KGF were closed down by BGML in 2001 due to reducing deposits and increasing costs. Since then a legal struggle is being waged by the ex-employees of BGML against the Ministry of Mines. In September 2003 the Karnataka High Court directed the government to hand over the mines to the employees and in December 2006, the Ministry undertook in court to do so at a market determined price. In July, 2010 after protracted litigation, the High Court of Karnataka finalized the terms and procedure of transfer.

Supreme Court approves revival of mining

In July 2010, the Supreme Court approved the central government's plan to float global tenders to revive the gold mines, 12 years after they were closed down. The court recorded a 2006 cabinet decision to invite bids to run the mines, and to take appropriate subsequent steps. Within 2014 they have to re-open mining, with selected mining units. [8]

Birth of the city

With the growth of the Gold Mines and the resulting demand for labour, people from the North and South Arcot districts of Tamil Nadu and Chittoor, Madhanapalli and Ananthapur districts of Andhra Pradesh, were settled around the various shafts. In course of time these habitations expanded to merge into each other to form the outer reaches of the town of KGF. In the core of the town were the families of British and Indian engineers, geologists and mine supervisors who lived a grand colonial lifestyle complete with golf course, tennis court, club with dance halls and bars, cottages and Bungalows with gardens and quarters for the employees and churches and chapels. The ruins of these structures and some memorabilia continue to exist even today. Many places in the area have names reminiscent of the raj. The two main townships which came up subsequently in KGF were Robertsonpet and Andersonpet, named after two British officers in the mines.

In June 1902, electricity was supplied for the mining operations at KGF, from India's second oldest power generation plant which was called the 'Kaveri Electric Power Plant' from Shivanasamudram.[9]

Subsequent establishment of the BEML public sector enterprise brought further expansion to the city providing employment to existing populations while also bringing in new populations that added to the cosmopolitan nature of KGF.

Champion Reefs

Champion Reefs is one of the main mining areas in the Kolar Gold Fields. The area is situated near Andersonpet in Kolar District. It has got in it the deepest mining shaft in Asia. This place is named after a British officer called Champion. The Kolar Gold Fields is spread around 17 square kilometers and goes as down deep as 17,000 feet. The mines have been closed. It is estimated that the total gold production in Karnataka to date is 1000 tons.

Champion reefs was once dominated by British foremen miners. .Reginald Gregory was the first chief miner who started the mining project at Champion Reefs, headed by taylor & Sons they soon were able to purchase other mines. .Champion reef has many renowned schools, from the colonial times including St. Joseph's and St. Mary's Schools. The Champion Reef Golf County is named after the Golf course present in this place.

Opportunities to Revive Gold Mining at KGF

Since the gold mines were owned by a government company, it was difficult for private investors to bring in required technical expertise and capital into mining operations. Research has shown, that the gold belt has not been realised to full potential. Drilling using diamond core and collecting rock samples have shown presence of more gold in KGF. Further according to Richard Johnson, CEO of Kolar Gold (listed in the London Stock Exchange, there is a need to conduct a geothermal survey of the KGF region, followed by drilling. The company has purchased 13 mining rights around the old KGF Mines, and expects to find gold in the next 5–6 years. Not only Gold can be found underground, but in the grey-white residue (called Cyanide Malai by locals) left behind by the mining activity. There is potentially around 20 tonnes of gold which can be recovered from this residue dump. Further, when the mines closed in 2001, gold was priced at $280 a tray ounce, and in 2011 Gold was selling at $1920 a tray ounce.[10]

Demographics

Tamil people form a majority at KGF, even though the Kolar district itself has a majority Telugu population. In the census of 1901, Tamil people constituted 61% of the population of KGF, and 58% in 1921, rising to 67.51% in 1971. In the mining towns of KGF, the Tamil population according to the 1971 census was at 81%. Most of the Tamil population trace their ancestry to the labourers brought in by the British from the North Arcot, Chittoor, Salem and Dharmapuri districts of the Madras Presidency, during the late 19th century. The migration was necessary, as the local villagers refused to work for the British (p.336).[4][11][12]

There is also a substantial Anglo-Indian population at KGF, descendants of the English mine supervisors.[13]

Three hundred thousand people lived in the Kolar gold fields when the mine was at its peak production, but since the closing of mines in 2003 the population has reduced to less than a hundred thousand. The older generation of KGF employees are staying on in the hope that the mines will revive, but the younger generation is either moving away to Bangalore or commuting to Bangalore. The population of KGF is cosmopolitan, including Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Hindi, Marwari, Urdu and Anglo Indian. Tamil being widely spoken language. KGF also has a population that is representative of the rest of Kolar district being primarily Kannada and Telugu speaking.

Education

In 1901, an English Medium Primary School was established by the John Taylor and Sons Company, at the Nandydoorg Mine, for providing education to the children of British and European workers of the company. It came to known as the Kolar Gold Fields Boys School Oorigaum, and was later upgraded to Middle School and then to High School, with the students appearing to Lower Cambridge and Senior Cambridge Level Exams. However this school was co-educational only up to Primary School, with girls being excluded after that.

In order to meet the educational requirements of girls in KGF, on the 15 January 1904, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tarbes established two schools in KGF - An English School for Europeans and Anglo Indians with 22 children, and a Tamil School with 7 children. The school operated in the compound of St. Mary's Church, Champion Reefs, with Sis. Teresa of Jesus serving as Head Mistress for both schools. Further, St. Mary's Boys School, a Boys Tamil school was also established in the same St. Mary's Church compound. Funding was made available from the Mysore Government since 1927, with Rs.98 grant towards the English school and Rs.82 grant towards the Tamil school. The English Convent subsequently developed into High School with Senior Cambridge Level and the Tamil Indian School with Junior Cambridge Level. The St. Mary's Boys School was moved to Andersonpet after an airblast incident.

In 1933, the Order of the St. Joseph of Tarbes started the St. Theresa's School in Robertsonpet and the in 1943, the St. Sebastian's School at Coromandel. With both schools offering English and Tamil Medium of instruction.[13]

In order to cater to the educational needs to the growing Marwai population at KGF, the Sumathi Jain High School an Hindi Medium School was established in Robertsonpet.[14]

KGF has an Engineering College which is Dr. T. Thimmaiah Institute of Technology (Formerly known as Golden Valley Institute of Technology - GVIT), a Dental College which is KGF College of Dental Science & Hospital and a Law College. Kengal Hanumanthaiah PU College (formerly known as First Grade College (FGC) KGF), Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College Kgf, KGF also has the National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) which is run by the Ministry of Mines with the help of GSI and IBM, and Vijaylakshmi college.

Schools in the area include, St. Teresa's School,St. Joseph's School, St. Mary's School, Nizamia School, Vani English High school and Higher Primary School, Sree Mahaveer Jain School, William Richards School, Edens English higher primary school, Momin Urdu School, Dr. Ambedkarhi Jain High School, Kendriya Vidyalaya BEML Nagar and BEML Composite Junior College (BCJC).

Climate

Kolar Gold Field is known as "Little England" by the British,[6] due to its more temperate weather and a landscape similar to Britain's. You can still see the old British styled bunglows which gives a small glimpse of British culture. The city is on the Deccan Plateau of central and south India, about 3000 feet above sea level.

BEML

The Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Defence set up a large manufacturing unit in KGF. It manufactures a variety of heavy equipment used for earth moving, transportation and mining such as Hauliers, Loaders, Dumpers, trailers and excavators. BEML was incorporated in May 1964, and commenced operations on January 1, 1965. It was wholly owned and operated by India's Ministry of Defence.

BEML acquired 1100 acres of prime land from BGML

Places of interest

ST. MICHAEL'S AND ALL ANGELS' CHURCH is located on Cooke Road, near the KGF Club, Oorgaum, south of the Catholic Mother of Mines Church. The origin of the church goes back to 1899, and was for the exclusive use of the (white) officers of the John Taylor and Sons, London, which owned the gold mines at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Mysore State.(pp.559-560)[4][15]

KAMMASANDRA: A Village situated 6 km from K.G.F has a collection of number of Shivalingas. More than 80 lakhs of such lingas already been Installed here since 1974. Among them a 108 Ft. height linga is the main attraction. Accommodation and free food facilities are available for Visitors.

BANGARU TIRUPATI: Modeled on the famous Venkateshwara Temple of Tirupathi in Andrapradesh nearby, This Temple is thronged by pilgrims, particularly during the month of Shravana (July–Aug). Darshan of the deity is through a small window in the sanctum. key founder of the temple Late K.M Doraswamy Naidu Ex MLA.

Mill Tailing Dumps all around KGF called “Cyanide Dumps” because of its content of “Cyanide used to extract the gold from the Ore. The continuous mining activity for the last 100 years in this area has resulted in the accumulation of huge dumps of mining waste (mill-tailings) occupying 10% of the total area in the township of the KGF. Besides occupying about 10% of the total land in the township these tailing dumps rise to a height of about 30m from the ground. Nowadays this dumps are becoming picnic place and number of film shooting have been taken at this place.

SRI LAKSHMIPRASANNA VENKATARAMANA TEMPLE: This is Temple of LordVenkateshwara and choultry located in Geetha Road, Robertsonpet. It was founded by Bhaskar Naidu during the early 1900s, now it is under the control of Mujaroi Department (Govt. of Karnataka).. Every year during the month of March “Pallakki-Mahostava” will be celebrated.

SRI NUMPERUMAL RANGANATHA SWAMY TEMPLE: this is the temple of lord SRI RANGANATHA SWAMI, SRI NUMPERRUMAL, SRI ANDAL AND UDAYAVAR SHABAI. The temple is located inside the campus of MADURAI'S SRI NUMPERUMAL HR PRY SCHOOL.

Mother of Mines Shrine Church, Thanga thai, Oorgaum Kolar Gold Fields

SOORAJMULL CIRCLE: Established by Late C.Soorajmull Bohra

Interesting facts

A view of the KGF Cub
Plaque at entrance to the KGF Cub

References

  1. 1 2 Mythic Society (Bangalore, India) (1918). The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society 9–10: iv, 5, 8, 300. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 1 2 Goodwill, Fred (1918). "Nandidroog". The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society 9–10: 300. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 Goodwill, Fred (1921). "The Religious and Military Story of Nudydurga". KGF Mining and Metallurgical Society (5).
  4. 1 2 3 Srikumar, S (12 March 2014). Kolar Gold Field: (Unfolding the Untold) (International ed.). Partridge Publishing. pp. 40–46. ISBN 1482815079. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Rice, Benjamin Lewis (1994). Epigraphia Carnatica: Volume X: Inscriptions in the Kolar Disctrict. Mangalore, British India: Department of Archaeology, Mysore State. p. i. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Aravamudan, Gita. "End of a golden age". rediff.com. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Narasimhamurthy, K (23 July 2013). "Waiting for another gold rush" (Bangalore). Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Apex court order brings cheer to BGML workers - The Hindu". thehindu.com. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  9. ↑ Iyer, Meera (21 June 2015). "Miscellany - A time capsule" (Bangalore). Deccan Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Kannan, Shilpa (13 December 2011). "Golden opportunity for old Indian mines" (Business). BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Kolar Gold Fields: Land with Golden People". Blogspot. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Steve, Arul (April 2013). "Specialization On Social And Cultural Indifference Among KGF Tamil Migrants". ArulSteve736. Word Press. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  13. 1 2 White, Bridget (2010). Kolar Gold Fields - Down Memory Lane: Paeans to Lost Glory!. Central Milton Keynes: Author House. ISBN 1452051038. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  14. ↑ White, Bridget (15 November 2010). "Tale of two thriving townships" (Bangalore). Deccan Herald. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  15. ↑ White, Bridget (2010). Kolar Gold Fields - Down Memory Lane: Paeans to Lost Glory!. Central Milton Keynes: Author House. p. 31. ISBN 1452051038. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "Road names – trivia". Bangalore Metblogs. 12 April 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2011.

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