Congress to probe ‘illegal diamond mining’

October 1st, 2009 RAIPUR - Hundreds of local residents were illegally mining diamonds at a site in Chhattisgarh since July, when securitymen guarding it were removed, the state's main opposition party Congress alleged here Thursday. "A panel of Congress leaders made an on-the-spot visit last week to the diamond-rich Pailikhand area in Raipur district and found mass illegal diamond mining going on after securitymen deployed at the site for years were withdrawn by the state government," Congress state unit general secretary Ramesh Varlyani told IANS.

September 29th, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's Cullinan mine, the source of the world's biggest diamond, has produced yet another unusually large, high-quality diamond, the mining company that made the find announced Tuesday. Petra Diamonds said the 507-carat gem was found alongside three more rough diamonds found at the mine Sep 24.

July 24th, 2009 PANAJI - Goa's Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar has alleged that nearly one-fifth of the state's mineral exports are illegally mined. Speaking during the question hour of the budget session of the Goa legislative assembly Friday, Parrikar also charged the government with being hand-in-glove with the illegal mining lobby.

July 13th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The Orissa assembly was adjourned several times Monday after the opposition parties created uproarious scenes demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged illegal mining by a private company in the mineral-rich Keonjhar district. As the house assembled, Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh raised the issue and questioned the government's announcement of a vigilance inquiry into the matter while the house was in session.

July 5th, 2009 Zimbabwe vows to withdraw army from diamond fieldsHARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe's official newspaper says the coalition government has pledged to withdraw troops from the Marange diamond fields and meet international mining standards. The government has denied recent allegations by Human Rights Watch that said the troops had killed more than 200 people at the mines while beating villagers and forcing children to search for gems.

June 26th, 2009 Rights group: Abuse in Zimbabwe diamond fieldsJOHANNESBURG — Human Rights Watch said Friday that Zimbabwe's armed forces have taken over diamond fields in the east and killed more than 200 people, forcing children to search for the gems and beating villagers who get in the way. Zimbabwe's deputy mining minister, Murisi Zwizwai, denied the allegations and said the military is there to secure the area.

June 17th, 2009 Diamond-rich Namibia hit by global slumpWINDHOEK, Namibia — Namibia's central bank governor said Wednesday the diamond-rich southern African nation's economy will shrink by 0.6 percent in 2009 as mining slows in the global economic crisis. Diamond production will fall by 40 percent to 800,000 carat this year, Bank of Namibia governor Tom Alweendo said.

June 13th, 2009 PANAJI - Local politicians have been protecting the illegal mining industry that has led to degradation of environment in Goa, Assembly Speaker Pratapsing Rane said. "Illegal mines in Goa are protected by politicians like me.

June 1st, 2009 South African mining co.: 36 illegal miners killedJOHANNESBURG — An underground fire in an abandoned shaft has apparently killed 36 illegal miners, South Africa's Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited said Monday. In a statement, the company said the bodies were brought to the surface by other illegal miners over the weekend.

April 14th, 2009 PANAJI - The Goa unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday promised that if the party comes to power at the centre it will amend Article 371 of the constitution to accord special status to the state. Leader of Opposition in the Goa assembly Manohar Parrikar also said that the BJP would take back the land given to SEZ promoters and give it to Goan entrepreneurs to develop it and also crack down on illegal and indiscriminate mining.

March 24th, 2009 PANAJI - The Goa government will phase out 14 operational mining leases located near the catchment area of the Selaulim dam, which supplies water to nearly 500,000 people, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said here Monday. 'All these 14 mining leases will be phased out in the next two or three years because of their proximity to the reservoir,' Kamat told the state assembly.

March 1st, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Saturday announced a skill enhancement training and aid package for the slowdown-hit diamond workers in the state. Under the package, unemployed diamond workers from Surat, Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar will get a stipend of Rs.100 per day during their training period.

January 28th, 2009 SURAT - The Congress party Thursday asked the Gujarat government to take immediate steps to help recession-hit small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and diamond units. Addressing the media at Valsad, 270 km from Ahmedabad and 50 km from here, Leader of Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil said the central government had announced two packages but the state government was wooing only big industries and ignoring the small and medium enterprises.

December 30th, 2008 BHOPAL - Rio Tinto India will soon set up a project for production of diamonds in Madhya Pradesh, the state government has said. 'The company has detected a diamond deposit in Chhatarpur district and will soon set up a diamond project for commercial production of diamonds,' Minister of State for Mineral Resources Rajendra Shukla told IANS.

December 25th, 2008 AHMEDABAD - The Congress party Friday accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of not taking enough measures to help the crisis-stricken diamond industry of the state. For four months the workers of diamond units were on the street crying for succour.