Koraput : Hundreds of tribals today ransacked the Public hearing conducted by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) with support of the Koraput district administration for mining of Maliparbat Bauxite reserve at Kankada Amba village in Koraput district of Odisha.
Sources said the meeting was running peacefully for one hour. Later hundreds of tribal men and women holding traditional weapons entered the meeting place shouting slogan and ransacked the meeting place.
The public hearing was cancelled due to the protest by the local people. The public hearing was organised for granting environmental clearance on the mining lease granted to Hindalco Industries Ltd.
“The organizers were seen running here and there to escape from there. The meeting could not be held further. Police failed to control the law and order sitation..
The leader of Maliparbat Surakhya Samiti (MSS) Presdent Bijay Khila alleged that meeting did not begin as per the notified scheduled time. The administration started the meeting at 9 AM instead of 11 AM as scheduled earlier.
He said as many as people of 44 villages are depending upon Maliparbat Mountain for their livelihood. More than 30 perinial streams that provide water to their agricultural fields would be lost if mining was allowed.
‘we will loose everything if the Maliparbat will be leased out, and mining operation started, he added’ and vowed not to allow mining activities in Maliparbat at any circumstance.
The proposed bauxite reserve is spread over 270 acres near Dolitoamba, about 40 km from Koraput. Initially the government leased out the reserve to Hindalco in 2003, But the company failed to operate it due to stiff resitance by the villagers. Since the lease perod expired due to non operational of the mine, the government sought for fresh application for the mining lease.
The Additional District Magistrate Deben Pradhan, Koraput Sub-Collector Lalit Kumar Kuanar, Semliguda and Koraput Tahasildars, Additional SP and IIC Semliguda were monitoring the situation.
