Jharsuguda: More than 50 men and women of Malipada village here Wednesday protested an under-construction ash pond of Vedanta Aluminum Limited at Katikela near the village.
People threatened to commit suicide en masse unless they were relocated to some other place or the pond shifted to a distance of at least 500 meter from the village.
It is better to end lives than dying in a polluted environment day in and day out, villagers said. People will suffer from various diseases as the ash pond is likely to pollute sources of water and air, they said.
The villagers had a faceoff with company officials when the latter started excavating for ash pond-3 at Katikela which is 30 mt from Malipada village.
According to villagers, water sources got polluted after the company excavated two ponds near the village. At least eight persons have died over last two years due to kidney ailments, they alleged.
Earlier, the residents had met the collector and urged him to not allow the company to have its ponds near the village. PNN
