KORAPUT: In a hope to protect the bauxite reserves in the region, thousands of tribals residing in 30 villages under five panchayats in Nandapur block offered prayers to their presiding deity Goddess Nageshwari at Balda cave here on Friday.
The cave where the goddess is worshipped every year during the Chaitra festival, is surrounded by bauxite reserves that the state government intends to lease out to a private company. Recently, the firm even notified a tender bid in this regard.
With no means to fight the government, the tribal villagers’ only recourse is to seek the blessings of Goddess Nageshwari to safeguard their age-old tradition and culture. Jana Sisa, a villager of Sawput, said the cave atop Nageswari hill is situated 66 km away from Koraput and surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty. The top of the mountain is flat where five football matches can be played simultaneously. Besides, a big pond is also situated on the mountain top.
“The mountain is a popular destination for trekking and hiking. The government is aware of the tourism potential of Nageswari cave which offers an enchanting view of the Jalaput reservoir. In 2003, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had visited the place and declared to develop it as tourism destination. However, the promise was forgotten and now, the government wants to mine bauxite from the mountain,” said Sisa.
Another villager Prahlad Khora said tribals residing in nearby villages depend on the forest produce of Nageshwari mountain. “Usually, we pray before the Goddess to bless us with good agricultural harvest and prosperity. But this year, we worshipped the Goddess to keep the government away from the mountain and protect our way of life,” he added.
Earlier, sarpanchs of several panchayats in Nandapur block had submitted a memorandum to Koraput collector Abdaal M Akhtar to stop the tender notification for bauxite mining and protect the Nageshwari hill.