Illegal mining in Bihar: loot of mica, stones and sand must stop!   Patna: right from Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Goa to Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhnad etc, mines are now in focus as a major source of corruption in the country, linking the politician with the mining magnates who indulge in the business of ‘dig and sell’ without any control. Even the roughest of estimates put the damage to the exchequer in lakhs of crores, not to mention the destruction wreaked on the environment and the valueless natural resources. Mines are now making news in Bihar as well. The state government has... 

Get yourself a mine, become a millionaire: a tale of murky millions from Orissa!   Bhubaneswar: Orissa’s Keonjhar district, long considered endemically poor, has undergone a transformation: it has turned daily wage labourers into crorepatis. Guali, a village that falls on a cart track, today has the latest SUVs whizzing around. A leading private bank operates a profitable branch for wannabe millionaires. Guali is home to Apat brothers, Kusha, Laba and Bhima, who have spun rags-to-riches tales in the last seven to eight years. Kusha Apat, a former truck driver, is the Keonjhar district...