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Villagers close roads leading to bauxite mining zone

KORAPUT: All roads leading to Mali Parvat, the acquired bauxite mining zone of HINDALCO near Doliambo of Semiliguda block in Koraput district have been closed by the agitating villagers. Boulders and a temporary gate made of bamboo have been placed by the villagers at the junction, joining the national highway with the road linking to the site of exploration.

The villagers have made their intention clearer through a banner asking the company people not to venture into the zone. Further down near Kankadaambo village, the villagers have cut two huge trees and blocked the road by placing them across.

‘We will not allow the company people or any vehicle engaged by the company to take a pinch of soil from our land ‘Ranga Nayak, a villager from Mugunaguda said. More than 220 families from 21 villages will be affected if the company goes ahead with its mining process.

These villages being the prime production centres for growing vegetables in the district, will lose its potentiality to grow any vegetable for the non-availability of perennial water sources once the adjoining mountains are mined, Bitru Khora of Tentuliguda said. The mountains containing the rich mineral are the only source of water with scores of streams coming out to irrigate the field throughout the year and with the upper layer of the mountains mined, the streams will be dried up and the fields will be starved of water, he added.

The controversy over the leasing of the 248 ha of land near these villages to the company had begun in 2005, when the company had refused to pay any compensation to the villagers except for the land required for making a road up to the national highway for there was no eviction and the mining was to be done on the revenue land owned by the government. There was also no assurance given on providing any kind of jobs to the people as the company was interested only to lift the soil from there, Ram Hantal of Mugunaguda said.

While local leaders coming together under the banner of ‘Mali Parvat Surakhya Samiti’ had lodged protests with the Government, the momentum could not be continued with some leaders standing with the company so as to facilitate passing of the lease request in favour of the company in the Zilla Parishad meeting in 2006, people had lost all the hopes on their leaders and sympathisers, he added.

Now that the transporters engaged by the company had reached the village, the villagers and mostly women from all these villages had come together to protest, Bhagavati Takaria, a concerned woman from Kankadaambo said.

‘We don’t have any leaders. But we are together as we could not sell ourselves at the cost of our children’s future’, she added.

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