Why did villagers walk 100 kilometers to protest at District Collector’s Office?

The tribals are once again at the streets to protect their jal jungle and Zameen from corporates. After the felling of trees in Hasdeo Arand in Chhattisgarh, Odisha is in the spotlight.

100 kilometers Foot march in Sundergarh

In Odisha, the tribals have marched for 100 kilometers to save their land. On 18^th October, five thousand village dwellers reached the District Collectors' office to protest. They remained unfazed by the rain and made the District Collector yield to their demands.

The Lowdown on the foot march and the protests

Odisha is a mineral-rich state abundant in Limestone, which is being mined for a long time. OCL- Odisha Cement Limited wants to hand over 2150 acres of land to Dalmia Private Company Cement India Limited after acquiring it. Some villages have also been earmarked for this.

Many villagers are up in arms against this acquisition. In a viral video, it can be seen that men-women are walking lock steps in the blazing sun to save their land.

Villages to be affected

Five panchayats of the Sundargarh districts-the Kukuda, Alanda, Kesarmal, and Jhagarpur panchayat of the Rajgangpur bloc and Ketang Panchayat of the Kutra block- are the targets for the acquisition. In the first proposal 750-acre land of 57 villages has been earmarked for handing over. Had the acquisition taken place 60,000 tribal families would have been rendered homeless.

Handed a memorandum to the District Collector

The protestors finally got to meet the collector Dr.Gawali Parag Harshad. 25 members, under the banner of "Jan Sangathan Forum for Gram Sabha" handed over the memorandum to the District Collector demanding the "illegal" acquisition to be stopped. Subsequently, the protestors were given a written assurance that a memorandum will also be handed to the Chief Minister, Governor and President and the further proceedings related to this acquisition will be stopped, until a response is provided. On the other hand, the protesting villagers said that if the government does not yield to their demands, they would resume the protests.

"Not a piece of land, but like a part of our body"

The president of Jan Sangathan Forum for Gram Sabha, Bibol Tope said" the land is not merely a source of income, but also a part of our body, this part is connected to our culture and language. Therefore, we are campaigning to protect this land since 2017 and would do in the future also, but would not hand over the land. Jan Jagran Abhiyan President and Social Worker Madhususan Sethi alleges that the "Dalmia group has been involved in stone mining since 1980 and want to expand their area, for this, they have earmarked 57 villages". He further alleges "this land would be acquired by a government company and handed over to a private company; the government is only concerned about its profit. The villagers are being lured by money so that they acquiesce in and hand over the land to the company".

यहाँ हिन्दी में भी पढ़ें– आखिर क्यों ओडिशा में 100 किलोमीटर की पैदल यात्रा कर ग्रामीण जिला कलेक्टर की दफ्तर के बाहर धरना प्रदर्शन करने पहुंचे

[Story Translated By Pratikshit Singh]