Tribal onslaughts

TOUGHENING their Stand against anymeasures which could Ultimately displace them are the tribals of four hamlets - Rallavalasa, Karagavalasa,Tuburti and Nimmalapadu - inVisakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Theirtarget of ire is the Rs 270-crore magnesiaproject of Indian Rayon and IndustriesLtd which is part of the Aditya Birlagroup.

The tribals, backed by a local outfit,Samata, have taken to placing roadblocks to prevent the company officialsfrom mining calcite in about 48.6 ha inthe tribal belt. They fear that the miningoperations could wipe out their habitatand also displace them. Currently, theyown fertile land ir the mining area andraise paddy. Large areas of the EasternGhats near Visakhapatnam havebeen leased to the company for calcitemining.

Laying down of a 22 kin road linkingNimmalapadu to the Visakhapatnamhighway has also got bogged down incontroversy. Ravi Pragada of Samarasays that the new road could effectivelychoke the drains and rivulets leadinginto the Sharda river and would alsodeprive the tribals of their land.