Police baton-charged villagers for opposing Aditya Birla bauxite mining project in Orissa
Channel: Deba Ranjan
Date: 2014-11-23

On 25th August 2014 large number of armed police with magisterial power reached at the top of the Baphlihill, where Utkal Alumina - Aditya Birla is continuously transporting bauxite through trucks to its Doraguda Alumina Plant. They started beating the villagers of Paikakupakhal. Many got the injured and three dalit villagers namely Mangaldan Nayak (30years), Kalendra Nayak (30) and Ms Kiyabati Nayak became injured more. Both print media and TV channels did not cover the incident except one. The local journalist of that newspaper later on was harassed by the goons not to write more on it.

Paikakupakhal village having 277 houses, mostly dalits and adivasis, is at the entry point of the Baphlimali mining. On the day of 20th August 2014 all villagers went to the mining site and demanded to work inside the mining. They argued to replace the machines first. Such preparation did not happen in one day. Initially those villagers were opposing the mining that is upto 2012. After they got written assurance from the then CEO S. K. Mishra of UAIL and the lease holder of the Company Mayen Chakrabarty, that the mining would not affect their cultivation they agreed on it.
 
The mining activities of last two years like mining bauxite and transporting same through trucks, installation of conveyor belts, construction of mining roads to top of the hill range have already destroyed their agricultural fields. The villagers who were growing paddy, maize, ragi and different vegetables are now surrounded with mining works. 

For more detail of it one can read http://www.countercurrents.org/ranjan151114.htm

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