Click to play videoKalahandi district, Orissa: Tribal people in Kalahandi are fighting a mining company and the police to save a forest which they say is in danger because of mining.
Vedanta Alumina needs permissions from the Supreme Court to mine in the government reserve forest, but is allegedly violating the Forest Conservation Act and constructing an alumina refinery.
Kondh tribals in the district refuse to move and make space for the project and allege that the police is harassing them. “Police officials hit us all over and held us in a lockup. They even took away a little girl and stripped me,” says a woman in Banduguda village.
The women of Banduguda village in March 2006 protested outside the refinery gates. The next day the police picked up 32 people and put them in jail and then strangely to a temple in Puri.
“We were put in jail for seven days. Then they said we are taking you to Puri because your soul is defiled. When we returned they had built a wall around the refinery,” says a physically challenged man of the village.
The village’s people allege that the wall has been built on their land. Police deny that they detained the villagers and instead claim the people went on a holiday.
“There were 32 persons and they visited Puri for seven-eight days. We gave them two buses and they visited beaches and temples in Puri,” says Sub Inspector V S Rao of the Orissa Police.
Vedanta is obliged to rehabilitate just 100 families, put people in Kalahandi say the refinery will affect the entire district.
“Mining will destroy streams the feeding channels will dry up lakhs of people will be economically ruined,” says social activist Sidharth Naik.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik insists that Orissa needs industrialisation but people of Banduguda village say it can’t be at their cost.
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