While doing my transect walk of the village Bahardanri with the local leader of that village Gunjai Soren and Vishwanath Mardi I get to know about the gold reserves found in the hills of that village’s forest where they do not use to go much because the forest is spreaded in a large area of land but the strange thing is that the condition of the village did not changed in any manner according to the villagers their village did not enjoyed any remarkable or good change.
In the quiet village of Bahardanri, nestled in the lush, green expanse of Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district, life moved at a gentle, predictable pace. The village, with its modest houses and vibrant fields, was a haven of simplicity and tradition. Most of its 1,500 residents were farmers who toiled the land, their days marked by the rhythm of the seasons and the harvests they reaped.

In early 2017, as the sun cast its first golden rays over the fields, the tranquility of Bhitardih was disrupted by an unexpected announcement. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) had discovered gold reserves beneath the village’s soil. News of this discovery spread like wildfire, igniting a mix of excitement, curiosity, and uncertainty.

For years, like every human being the villagers also wanted to gain prosperity but had never imagined that their small plot of earth held such riches and this incident had brought up a piece of hope for them also. The village council, led by the wise and respected Sarpanch, Ramakant Patel, called an urgent meeting to discuss the implications of this new revelation. As the villagers gathered in the common area of the village which is now near the Anganwadi of the village.

All the villagers got very excited as this is something they have never even dreamt of. They said there is a mixed feeling among the villagers they all are excited as well as shocked and at the same time they are tensed about their forest by looking at the crowd, that now their village is exposed to the outsiders and now many politicians, media, contractors, etc are coming and they may destroy their village.

The excitement soon turned to a whirlwind of activity as mining companies and investors descended upon Bahardanri. They offered contracts and promised jobs, etc. every day something new is happening in their village, new people are coming to their village. They also started thinking that their village and their condition will change now.

Many years passed but still there is no such change or transformation was observed in their or village. Even they said that after discovering about the gold reserves, 2 – 3 months many people came and promised for many things but after 2 – 3 suddenly everything went silent. Everyone stopped coming and after that the villagers do not know anything about the Gold reserve that was found and everything in their village and life get back to its basics. The most strange thing is that the villagers don’t even know that whether they found any gold reserve in that place or not.
In the end, Bhitardih’s story was not just about the discovery of gold, but about a community navigating the complexities of change while striving to retain its heart and heritage.

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