Call to protect Gandhamardan hill

Sambalpur: Thousands of people gathered for a public meeting here on Friday with the aim to protect Gandhamardan hill and to save the livelihood of those dependent on the hill.The meeting organised by the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and social outfits raised demands for the protection of natural resources, livelihood and tribal rights. A delegation later submitted a memorandum of their demands to the chief minister through the revenue divisional commissioner (north).The gathering demanded halting of mining activities on Gandhamardan hill, cancelling unauthorised mining leases given without gram sabha consent, and stopping displacement and destruction in the name of development. They also demanded proper implementation of Forest Rights Act, 2006, distribution of land to landless families and justice for families displaced by projects like Lower Suktel. The memorandum also included issues like environmental destruction, rising temperatures and climate change due to unregulated industrialisation and mining.Narendra Mohanti of NAPM said, "Govt is now planning to lease Gandhamardan to private companies, ignoring earlier protests that had stopped mining. In the history of Odisha, after Independence, several projects have displaced thousands of locals; many of them are still not fairly compensated."