india

Updated: Mar 18, 2019 23:31 IST

A Dalit employee of Vedanta Alumina’s 1.5 million tonne refinery in Odisha’s Kalahandi district was killed and a guard of the Odisha Industrial Security Force (OISF) burnt to death, when protesting locals demanding permanent jobs clashed with police outside the refinery on Monday. More than 30 persons were critically injured.

According to the police, agitators from three local villages were staging a sit-in outside the Vedanta refinery’s main gate to demand the reinstatement of a villager who was fired two days ago.

“At around 10 am, the protestors suddenly tried to force their way inside when they were stopped by the OISF personnel. In the ensuing lathi-charge, the villager died,” said B Gangadhar, superintendent of police in Kalahandi. “ After that, locals stormed the refinery and burnt down several offices including that of Vedanta’s security office, killing an OISF guard.”

The villager who died in the OISF lathicharge has been identified as 45-year old Dani Patra, a contractual worker with Vedanta, while the OISF guard killed was Havildar Major Sujit Kumar Minz.

OISF inspector, Ashok Kumar Roul, told HT that the protestors attacked the security personnel and pelted stones first. “They were extremely violent and refused to calm down. When the attack got severe, our personnel attempted to push back the crowds,” he said.

OISF was raised in 2012 to protect public and private industrial undertakings.

The villagers then sat on dharna with Patra’s body, demanding compensation but were soon dispersed and prohibitory order Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC ) promulgated.

District Collector Parag Harshad Gavalli did not take HT’s calls. However, locals in Lanjigarh alleged that today’s incident was the result of a feeling of being short-changed by both Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government and Vedanta. “People from three villages are being displaced due to the expansion of an existing red mud pond at the refinery,” said a district official who wished not to be quoted.

Red mud is bauxite residue, a toxic waste product of alumina manufacturing.

“Though the displaced have received compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act, the issue of resettlement in the allocated new place is still pending.”

The official said that many of those being displaced wanted permanent jobs which the company was not willing to give.

The CEO of Vedanta’s Lanjigarh plant, Ajay Dixit, said that the violence seemed premeditated.

“The videos that have come to us show that the villagers entered our premises, burnt our CSR office and another that deals with community development. If the agitation was peaceful, the OISF person would not have died,” he said.

Dixit said the company has about 3000 people at the Lanjigarh plant, of whom 2500 are contractual and the rest permanent employees.

“Of the contractual workers, over 80% comprises local people. It’s our effort to employ more locals as permanent staff, but as it’s an automated plant, we need people of certain skills which the locals may not possess. We sincerely appeal to protestors not to resort to such acts, when every situation can be resolved amicably through discussions.”

“Instead of using force, Vedanta and the government should initiate a dialogue with the locals, who have been protesting democratically,” said New Delhi-based Abhay Xaxa of the National Campaign for Adivasi Rights.

(With inputs from Pallabi Munsi in New Delhi).