Mining push meets tribal resistance

Hamdu Majhi, a modest member of the Kondh tribe in his 60s with graying hair and a thin moustache, is visibly uneasy. His voice shakes but his words are firm. He claims that no matter what modern machinery is used, no road will be allowed to wind its way to the top of the majestic 1,223-metre Sijimali hill, located between Rayagada and Kalahandi districts of southern Odisha.

Standing at Bichhapinda on State Highway 44, Hamdu, a resident of Uparamapadar village on the outskirts of Sijimali, speaks not only for himself but also for the entire community preparing for the confrontation. He is far from alone. Under a punishing summer sun, the silence of the forest is shattered as a vehicle approaches. Old women, nursing mothers with babies in their hands, children and men with axes in their hands, they all rush out together when they see the vehicles stopped on the highway where the 2.98 km access road is proposed to start the climb to the hill they call their home and life preserver.