A British company's plans to mine bauxite on a tribal community's sacred land in India is like demolishing Stonehenge to make way for mining, campaigners warned today.
A British company's plans to mine bauxite on a tribal community's sacred land in India is like demolishing Stonehenge to make way for mining, campaigners warned today.
ActionAid is backing the Khondh people's fight against Vedanta's plans for an open pit ore mine on Niyamgiri Mountain in the state of Orissa, eastern India.
Opponents of the scheme were joined by campaigner Bianca Jagger and musician Nitin Sawhney yesterday to protest at the company's AGM in London.
According to ActionAid, who have bought tribal activist Sitaram Kulisika a share in the company so he can attend the AGM and speak against the scheme, the mining will destroy the area's ecosystem and threaten the tribe's future.
The 8000-strong tribe are dependent on the mountain for their crops, water and livelihood and hold it, and the surrounding forest, as sacred and home of their god Niyam Raja.
The mine is due to open in September but ActionAid is calling on shareholders to oppose the mining of the site for bauxite, which is processed into aluminium.
Meredith Alexander, of the aid agency, said: "Just as the public would be horrified to see Stonehenge demolished to make way for mining, ActionAid believes they should be even more troubled by Vedanta's plans to flatten the heart of the Kondh's culture, the land they also rely on for their future.
"Shareholders include the Church of England and numerous county councils. They are investing in a mine that will destroy a community's way of life," she warned.
Mr Kulisika said it was not too late to stop the "extinction" of his people's way of life.
"Last year Vedanta directors vowed not to mine without our consent. I am here to request all shareholders to honour that promise and save our livelihood and our god.
"We have been living in harmony with this mountain, these forests, these animals for generations. Vedanta has been here for less than 10 years.
"They cannot tell us what is best for our future."- PA.
