BHAWANIPATNA: Members of the Khandual Mali Surakhya Samiti organized a rally at Permanji to mark the occasion of Environment Day on Sunday. Activists like Medha Patkar, Prafulla Samantrai, Lingaraj Ajad and Lado Sikaka of Niyamgiri Surakhaya Samiti, who attended the meeting, opposed the proposed bauxite mining in Khandual Mali in the district.
Khandual Mali has 165 million tonnes of high-grade bauxite. Addressing the rally, Patkar said coal and other mineral-based industries and mining are posing danger to mankind. Bauxite mining in Khandual Mali will destroy the sources of Nagavali and Indravati rivers, about 350 streams and lakhs of trees, she said.