Oriya tribal on way to London to save Niyamgiri hill
July 25th, 2009 - 8:31 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, July 25 (IANS) A young Kondh tribal from Orissa is on his way to London to appeal to shareholders of Britain-headquartered metal giant Vedanta to reconsider its plan to mine bauxite from the “sacred” Niyamgiri hill against the wish of the local tribal community.
Threatened by the proposed mining, the Kondh community living on the ecologically sensitive hill has sent their representative to appeal to company shareholders to abandon the project in Orissa’s Kalahandi district.
“We cannot live without our God Mountain and the forest. We will continue our peaceful struggle. It is a life and death battle and Kondh people are united on this,” young Sitaram said before leaving India Saturday.
ActionAid, a voluntary organisation, is helping the tribal community in their fight against Vedanta.
The company is set to build an open-pit mine for bauxite on the top of the hill and a refinery plant on the foot of the hill.
Activists protesting the move say the mining will lead to dislocation of this indigenous community and destroy the local ecosystem. The community believes that the Niyamgiri hills are the ancestral home of thousands of tribal people whose distinctive way of life and culture make them one of India’s most vulnerable indigenous groups.
The Supreme Court allowed Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite in Niyamgiri Hill in August last year.
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- Troubled Vedanta loses appeal for controversial Orissa refinery - Oct 22, 2010
- Vedanta runs into a London storm over Orissa mining plans - Jul 27, 2009
- Supreme Court asks for fresh petition on Orissa mining issue - Apr 01, 2011
- Protest in London to stop mining project in Orissa - Jul 25, 2010
- Media exposure rocked mining boat in Niyamgiri: Filmmaker - Nov 26, 2010
- Apex court questions environment ministry on Niyamgiri (Lead) - Aug 01, 2011
- Government panel says no to Vedanta's Orissa project - Aug 16, 2010
- Church of England withdraws from India mining project over human rights issue - Feb 06, 2010
- BJP slams Rahul Gandhi for sharing dais with a Maoist leader - Aug 27, 2010
- Orissa seeking legal opinion on Vedanta project - Oct 28, 2010
- Government panel nixes Vedanta's Orissa project (Lead) - Aug 16, 2010
- Rahul Gandhi tells tribals they have saved their land - Aug 26, 2010
- India junks Vedanta's mining bid on environment concerns - Aug 24, 2010
- Centre ignoring mining hazards in Orissa, says Amnesty report - Feb 09, 2010
Tags: ancestral home, bauxite, company shareholders, death battle, dislocation, ecosystem, god mountain, indigenous community, indigenous groups, life and death, New Delhi, open pit, orissa, refinery plant, sitaram, top of the hill, tribal community, voluntary organisation, way of life, way to london