A never-seen-before agitation supporting industrialization in Odisha brought life to a standstill. Thousands of people in Kalahandi district’s Lanjigarh area and adjacent places like Biswanathpur, Daikhal, Ambodala etc. protested and shouted slogans demanding allocation of bauxite to the alumina refinery of Vedanta Aluminum Limited (VAL) in Lanjigarh.
The people in these regions came to the streets on August 29, 2012 and observed a one day bandh. Due to scarcity of bauxite, VAL had to run its refinery at 40-50 percent of its capacity. If this situation continues, then it is anticipated that there will be a stoppage of production at Lanjigarh. The locals fear that this would lead to loss of jobs and affect livelihood.
The protest was prominent in Lanjigarh and was spearheaded by Lanjigarh Anchalika Vikash Parishad. Sridhara Pesnia, president of the Anchalika Vikas Parishad said that the people in Lanjigarh were disappointed as their future appears to be in the dark since no bauxite mine has been allotted to Vedanta.
“The alumina refinery should be provided bauxite from Odisha. The state and central govt. must ensure this, else the local people will be affected. Thousands of localities depend on the refinery for their livelihood. We will go to the Chief Minister and if required to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister in future if bauxite mine is not provided to Vedanta”, added Pesnia.
Few days ago, nearly two thousand localities of Lanjigarh area staged a demonstration demanding bauxite mines for the Company.
This is the real voice of Local Tribals
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