The Lok Adhikar Yatra, aimed at opposing indiscriminate mining and protecting water, land and forest resources, reached the steel city of Rourkela on Sunday.

The yatra began on February 25 from Satyabhamapur in Cuttack district, the birthplace of Utkal Gourav Madhu Sudan Das, and is travelling across Odisha to highlight concerns over environmental degradation and what organisers describe as a corporate-driven development model.

Convener and noted environmentalist Prafulla Samantara said: “We need to think of our next generation. Indiscriminate mining and plundering of natural resources must stop. We should adopt a people-centric development policy.”

He said the yatra held a meeting in Keonjhar on Saturday. The district, home to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, has suffered heavily from rampant mining. “Once known for its natural beauty, Keonjhar is losing it due to unbridled mining,” he said.

Samantara warned that MoUs signed by the state and Centre have handed over water, land and forest resources to industrial houses, which could have serious consequences. “The water level of the Baitarani river is depleting daily. Diverting water for industries may trigger a drinking water crisis and affect farmers,” he said.

Appealing to citizens, political parties and civil society to deliberate on the issue, he said they were opposing the Essar Minmet project in Keonjhar, which proposes transporting iron ore through slurry pipelines. If implemented, it would cause water stress and pollution, he alleged.

The yatra is being coordinated by Dr Biswajit of the Gandhi Peace Foundation and the Sarvodaya movement.

State convener of the National Alliance of People’s Movements, Narendra Mohanty, said the march seeks to examine who controls natural resources and whether the development model serves people or corporate interests.