Narangi Dei Majhi, a tribal woman who had met Rahul Gandhi during his Odisha visit last month to highlight alleged illegal mining in Rayagada and Kalahandi, was arrested by police on August 2 in Rayagada, drawing criticism from environmental and rights activists.
Narangi was part of a tribal delegation that submitted a memorandum to the Congress leader during his July 11 rally in Bhubaneswar. Her arrest has sparked outrage among activists, who claim it is part of a pattern of intimidation of those opposing corporate-backed mining.
Prafulla Samantara, recipient of the 2017 Goldman Environmental Prize, said Narangi was expected to take part in a padyatra from August 1 to 9 to mark Biswa Adivasi Diwas, aimed at mobilising public opinion against indiscriminate mining in the tribal belt. “But she was arrested while in Rayagada to support her daughter-in-law during delivery,” he said.
Narendra Mohanty, state convenor of the Campaign Against Fabricated Cases (CAFC), said Narangi had earlier blocked police access to the Sijimali mining site on May 28, when tribals stopped police vehicles from entering the area to prevent them from setting up a camp allegedly in aid of mining companies.
Mohanty added that she had also protested the Rayagada administration’s move to block activist Medha Patkar from entering the area on June 5. Later, Narangi joined other tribals in Bhubaneswar to meet Rahul Gandhi and inform him about the environmental damage and threats to tribal livelihoods.
During the meeting, Narangi told Rahul: “The government is not listening to us. We will not allow Vedanta, Adani and Ambani to loot our land. Their nexus threatens more than three lakh people.”
The tribals claimed mining in the hills would dry up nearly 200 streams that originate there. “The government has violated the Constitution and favoured corporations. They have used brute police force, ignored gram sabha approvals, bypassed the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, and filed fake reports to help companies,” they said.
While Vedanta has been allotted the Sijimali bauxite mines in Rayagada, Adani’s Mundra Aluminium Limited holds the Kutrumali block in Rayagada and Kalahandi. Adani has also bagged the Ballada bauxite block in Koraput.