Friday, January 30, 2009

Tribals create human wall to save Niyamagiri

The Pioneer, Jan 30, 2009
PNS | Bhawanipatna

Over 20,000 tribal men and women including their children from the Niyamgiri area marched through the dense forest to create a 17-km-long human wall across their god-mountain Niyamagiri, believed to be the incarnation of Niyan Raja, which faces destruction due to mining activities.

The people from over 200 villages converged at the place covering a 17-km stretch along the Niyamgiri foothills on Tuesday. The chain traversed from Ijirupa across Jaganathpur, Lanjigarh and Kansari up to Balabhadrapur.

"How could I not come, it is our life," says a 45-year-old Dongaria Kondh. She walked 70-km from Khambehi village in Rayagarha to take part in the protest.

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