Jajpur: Residents of Hatasahi village of Kaliapani panchayat under Sukinda block in Jajpur district are facing serious problems due to the location of a dumping yard belonging to the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). The dumping yard, which is approximately 30 metres away from the village, is also expanding thereby reducing the distance between it and the village.
Also read: Mining blasts cause cracks in houses
“OMC authorities of the South Kaliapani unit are expanding the dumping yard area, thereby encroaching into village land. They are also carrying out mining activities close to the village. The frequent blasts at the mining site is damaging our houses,” residents of Hatasahi village said.
“The collusion between some influential people with the management of the South Kaliapani mines and OMC authorities has added to the woes of local residents. Neither the OMC authorities nor the district administration are doing anything to help the people who have been displaced due to the activities carried out in the South Kaliapani mines,” the villagers added.
Residents of Hatasahi village have been staying there for more than 60 years now. They have received threats whenever they have protested against the mining activities. The villagers said that they have been paying taxes to the revenue department for their respective land areas. Yet their woes continue to increase.
Social activist Parbati Patra and more than 200 villagers of Hatasahi have already written July 1 to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking rehabilitation and adequate compensation for those displaced. The NHRC has filed a case (No-1730/18/24/2020) in this connection and asked the managing director of OMC to submit a reply within four weeks.
The distance of the mining site is said to be approximately 70 to 80 metres away from the Hatasahi village. Frequent tremors in the area due to blasts have led to cracks developing in houses. Pollution due to the mining activities is also causing respiratory problems to the villagers.
When asked on this issue, regional manager of OMC at Jajpur Road Prasanna Kumar Swain said, “There are demands from Hatasahi villagers to rehabilitate them. We have duly communicated their demands to our higher-ups. Necessary steps will be taken as per instructions of the OMC head office.”
PNN
