Tribal onslaughts

TOUGHENING their Stand against any
measures which could Ultimately displace them are the tribals of four hamlets - Rallavalasa, Karagavalasa,
Tuburti and Nimmalapadu - in
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Their
target of ire is the Rs 270-crore magnesia
project of Indian Rayon and Industries
Ltd which is part of the Aditya Birla
group.

The tribals, backed by a local outfit,
Samata, have taken to placing road
blocks to prevent the company officials
from mining calcite in about 48.6 ha in
the tribal belt. They fear that the mining
operations could wipe out their habitat
and also displace them. Currently, they
own fertile land ir the mining area and
raise paddy. Large areas of the Eastern
Ghats near Visakhapatnam have
been leased to the company for calcite
mining.

Laying down of a 22 kin road linking
Nimmalapadu to the Visakhapatnam
highway has also got bogged down in
controversy. Ravi Pragada of Samara
says that the new road could effectively
choke the drains and rivulets leading
into the Sharda river and would also
deprive the tribals of their land.