Ask the adivasis...

Will the eco hot spot of Niyamgiri hills in tribal Orissa be ravaged by mining?
Bibhuti Pati Lanjigada (Koraput)

It's been almost a decade, but this non-violent movement is peaking amid the dense, pristine wild forests, mountains and streams, wildlife, flora and fauna of the remote Niyamgiri hills near Lanjigada in Koraput-Kalahari, inhabited by Dongria-Kondh tribals. The movement is eight-year-old and is in no mood to relent despite a Supreme Court judgement which has okayed the Vedanta project for mining. Not only does it draw its strength from its ancient indigenous ecological heritage, it has the backing of several expert committees, environmentalists and activists, who have pitch-forked the struggle against the British multinational owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal like the legendary 'Silent Valley movement'.

The Niyamgiri struggle has hit global headlines. And the fact is that truth is on their side - because  Niyamgiri hills is one of the most precious ecological hot spot in the world, and this is what the massive propaganda by Vedanta just can't change. No wonder, Vedanta's ad slogan - 'A few smiles make a day', is actually being translated as, 'A few smiles ruin a day'.

Hence people here have blocked the road construction or entry of Vedanta officials. "We will defy court orders," they say. Documentary filmmakers are making films on life in the hills and how an apocalypse awaits this pristine piece of nature. Activists, academics, students and writers are coming from all over the country to register their solidarity. Wildlife lovers are pitching in. "Mining will ravage this ecological treasure protected and preserved by the tribals since centuries. Look what they have done at Lanjigada," says a local.

People in Lanjigada, who actually suffered the deadly consequences of mining, tell their story of condemnation - and people in Niyamgiri, still untouched from the catastrophe, are listening. "When the Vedanta company came to Lanjigada, they and the Orissa government assured the people that poverty would be alleviated and development would touch every home and individual. But in reality, the villages have been taken for a jolly good ride," says Pitabas Khiringa, a youngster.
The villagers are unanimous: "The greenery faded away from our villages as they are illegally cutting trees. Our water systems and streams were poisoned. Our agricultural land became barren. Our groundwater became dirty, touched rock-bottom. Our air got polluted and we experienced unprecedented pollution in our villages. Our biodiversity was destroyed. We were uprooted. Rehabilitation means pushing us in make-shift slums. We have lost our means of livelihood. We have lost our beautiful land." 

Says Susanta Panda, a local journalist, "Whatever little Vedanta is doing for a few is being blown out of proportion by them and government officials with vested interests. Traditional agriculture and livelihood has been badly hit."

Sarpanch Fakir Majhee of Lanjigada recalls that when Naveen Patnaik visited Kashipur near Rayagada in this same region, he had declared that after the establishment of Vedanta Alumina, drinking water and unemployment problems will be solved, education and healthcare facilities will improve. This has predictably turned out to be a political gimmick. Old people, widows, ordinary folks in the area have no option but to silently tolerate pain - healthcare facilities are abysmal. This is perhaps one of the most backward areas in the poverty-stricken Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi region, where thousands of crores have been pumped in over the years. So where has all the money gone?