ROURKELA: Tension prevailed at Lanjiberna dolomite and limestone mines of Dalmia Cement Bharat (DCBL) in Rajgangpur of Sundargarh district on Wednesday after the company resumed mining operations amid strong protests by villagers.
The situation turned volatile in the morning when the company resumed work with heavy machinery, prompting a face-off between protesters and police deployed at the site. Villagers alleged that land acquisition for the mine expansion was carried out illegally and accused the district administration of violating established guidelines.
Although mining activities were suspended after sunset, the standoff between police and protesters continued into evening. An estimated 2,000 to 2,500 villagers were present at the protest site. By evening, Rajgangpur Congress MLA CS Razzen Ekka joined the agitators in support of their demands.
Convenor of the forum for gram sabha committee, Rajgangpur Binay Bhusan Barla said as part of the Lanjiberna mines’ expansion, DCBL took possession of 27.26 acre of land at Lanjiberna mouza under Kutra tehsil and 9.22-acre parcel at Bihabandh under Rajgangpur tehsil on December 13, 2025. He alleged that the acquisition process violated laid-down norms.
MLA Ekka said several affected landowners had not received compensation and that their grievances were not addressed. According to him, half of the 27.26 acre land was earlier leased to the Bisra Stone Lime Company (BSLC) and transferred to DCBL in 2009 through a lease-tolease arrangement without mandatory gram sabha approval. The remaining portion, he alleged, involved fresh acquisition in violation of prescribed guidelines.
Sundargarh ADM (revenue) Abhimanyu Majhi maintained that due process had been followed in the land acquisition process and appealed to the protesters to participate in discussions, assuring that genuine grievances would be addressed. The protests continued till reports last came in.
In December 2025, the company had taken possession of two land parcels and initiated preliminary mining activities. However, operations were halted after protests by villagers. Hundreds of tribal protesters had blocked state highway-10 at Jhagarpur for nearly 12 hours over the same issue.