Hundreds of tribals from Odisha’s mining-affected districts gathered in the city on Sunday for the Lok Adhikar Samavesh, voicing strong objection to bauxite mining in the Sijimali hills and demanding protection of natural resources and livelihoods.
Participants, largely from Kalahandi, Rayagada and Koraput, urged the government not to hand over the hills to corporate firms, warning that unchecked mining would lead to displacement, ecological damage and loss of traditional livelihoods.
Mithun Naik, 29, who was released from jail around two months ago, travelled from Kalahandi to Bhubaneswar to attend the convention, hoping his voice would be heard against reckless mining and in favour of preserving natural resources for future generations.
Naik said: “My only concern is that our land and hills in Kalahandi, Rayagada and Koraput need to be protected. The sacred Sijimali hills, rich in bauxite and stretching across Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, should not be handed over to companies. It must be preserved. We have been fighting for the past few years to protect them. We had high hopes, especially since we now have a tribal chief minister, that our land would be safeguarded. But it seems our hopes have been shattered.”
Recalling his ordeal, Naik said: “While I was returning home to Kachalekha village from Bhawanipatna, the district headquarters of Kalahandi, on a motorcycle on November 14, 2025, around 12 to 14 people — whom I believe were goons sent by companies interested in the Sijimali mines, with the knowledge of the police — intercepted me and forcibly took me away. I was later taken to Rayagada district and put in jail. I was released on bail on January 14, 2026.”
Naik is a member of the Maa Mati Mali Surakhya Mancha, a local organisation which has been raising objections to the proposed bauxite mining in the Sijimali hills.
“The police have lodged false cases against me, claiming that I was involved in a brawl with others. It is a false charge,” Naik said.
He further said he approached the police on January 24, 2026, to recover his mobile phone, motorcycle and ₹26,640 received under the Indira Awas scheme. “The police have not taken any action so far to recover my belongings.”
Another participant, Ganga Naik, said: “We do not want this kind of industrial development. We have already seen what has happened in Kashipur in Rayagada district, where a company has set up a plant. Tribals do not benefit, instead, they are displaced with minimal compensation. Once mining is done and natural resources are exhausted, the streams will dry up and the land will turn into a desert.”
Dipanjali Majhi, 20, pleaded: “Our livelihood depends on the forests and hills. Please do not take them away from us.”
The ministry of environment, forest and climate change, along with the Rayagada district administration and the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, had conducted a public hearing for the Sijimali bauxite block in 2023, a mandatory step before granting environmental clearance for mining projects. However, people are protesting against the government’s move to hand over the block, which has an estimated reserve of 311 million tonnes, to a private company.
National convener of Lok Shakti Abhiyan and 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prafulla Samantara said: “To highlight indiscriminate mining, we organised the Lok Adhikar Yatra, which began on February 25 from Satyabhamapur, the birthplace of Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das in Cuttack district. After passing through 22 districts, it reached Bhubaneswar on March 23. Today’s gathering is part of that movement. However, many tribals could not reach Bhubaneswar as they were stopped midway by the police.”
He added: “We demand a white paper on the present status of natural resources and their utilisation. Plundering of natural resources must stop. A debate should be held on this issue.”
State convener of the National Alliance of People’s Movements, Narendra Mohanty, said: “We should adopt a people-centric development model. But there has been an attempt to silence voices by arresting people. Only a few days ago, an eminent activist, Lingaraj Azad, was arrested.”
Gandhi Peace Foundation’s national coordinator, Dr Biswajit, said: “As per the Paris Agreement, we must impose a ban on setting up new thermal power plants. Leases granted for new coal mines should be withdrawn immediately.”