(IN): One tree cut Five Indians dead

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One tree cut Five Indians dead

 

Local residents in Uganda's Mabira forest are up in arms against their

government. And all Indians based in Uganda. It must be the first time

that a green issue sparked a diplomatic crisis between two countries

and a racial outburst . Already three people have died - including

several attacks on Asians in Kampala and property worth millions

belonging to Asians was also destroyed. At the core of the conflict is

7000 acres of prime forest land to be leased to the Indian-owned Mehta

group of industries - for growing sugarcane which is being opposed by

the local community which does not want the government to sign away

their forest. The tension has been brewing for a while in Uganda now.

The Ugandan Parliament is yet to change the status of the forests

-campaigners have threatened more violence if the forest is given

away. The Mabira forest- one third of which has been leased for

logging to make way for sugarcane. The forest is home to some of the

most endangered animals and birds. While nothing justifies the

systematic targeting of the Indians or the innocent boy who was killed

in the outburst- at the heart of the violence is a debate which is not

being addressed. Old landuse patterns of agriculture or forest are

becoming redundant in the new world economic order bringing the

traditional owners of the land in direct conflict with industries.

 

And whether it is Uganda or India it's the same story of struggle. .I

have just returned from Kalahandi, Orissa where tribals are up in arms

against a mining company that has plans to extract bauxite from the

Niyamgiri forests they consider sacred.. The forests are the only

green patch left in drought prone Kalahandi. People have lost their

lives, tribals have been forcibly evicted to make way for the mining

company- Our day is spent recording testimonies of tribals who have

been forced to give up their land to make way for the mining company.

In order to crosscheck the testimonies we always interview the other

side- the mining company or the police. The company thinks they have

done their job- A slick rehabilitation package for a 100 families and

its enough. Never mind that over 32 streams in this drought prone

district will dry up, the soil will be contaminated making it

redundant for agriculture once the mining starts. The number of

families that will be affected will be more than 5000. But as they

have not been physically displaced they cannot get any compensation.

 

Orissa's resettlement and rehabilitation policy of 2006 forbids any

forced displacement. But there are other ways of making people leave

their land. In Bandagudagaon a woman demonstrates to me how she was

stripped of her saree and shoved like an animal by the police- when

they protested at the factory gate. I am holding the microphone as she

speaks and she grabs a stick and pushes me really hard while screaming

in Oriya. My hands are shaking by now- her fear is my fear - as she

describes how they were all rounded up by the police. I can only

imagine when the state unleashed its power on her what she must have

felt.. I request my producer - Rahul to carry on the interview- two

days of recording testimonies of human rights violations has left me

emotionally drained.

 

When we confront the local police with the testimonies of tribals

being ill-treated- the local Inspector laughs it off - 'these tribals

are drunkards what else do you expect?'. The Collector too is

dismissive- these people don't understand this is good for them.. Its

clear the State could not care less. A citizen of Kalahandi may as

well not be a citizen - he or she can only be a silent spectator.

 

There are other problems which are never addressed-The environmental

costs of big mining projects are rarely factored in. While a company

is obliged to plant trees to replace the forest it has cut- it is

seldom done in the same area where they cut it. In Kalahandi as I

drive away from the Niyamgiri hills I know I am seeing the dense

forests for the last time. With this last green patch gone the

rainfall patterns , the local weather conditions will be drastically

affected- this too would never be factored in by the economists

selling us the industrialization dream.

 

By the third day we have been noticed. From nowhere we find people in

motorbikes following us. They don't do anything nor look at us- their

presence is enough. The moment they enter the tribal hut where we are

recording testimonies the tribals clam up. In the presence of these

men they are silent.

 

I try a disarming technique. I ask the men who have been following us

on their motorbikes to give us an interview. They oblige! We meet Ram

Naik- he is a transporter from the nearby town of Bhawanipatna. After

the mining company came in all his 10 cars and 5 trucks are used

regularly he is earning big profits. Its clear who will benefit from

the mining. This part of Kalahandi has new residents- the contractors,

semi-skilled labour and transporters- they will all benefit from the

mining company. They are the new residents of lanjigarh... As for the

old residents - the Dongriya Kond tribals they must make way- they are

irritants on Orissa's shining road to industrialization.

 

When we carried the story of the tribals of Orissa- many viewers wrote

in expressing their anger. The tribals of Orissa were being

anti-development. How could they not understand this was good for them?

 

Unfortunately anyone who questions rapid industrialization is labeled

a communist who is anti-development without seriously addressing the

complexity of the issues. Its easy to say rehabilitate people- but is

rehabilitation offered to every project affected person- NO.

Invariably a rehabilitation package is offered to a minute fraction of

those affected by the project. In Orissa the oustees of the Hirakud

Dam built decades ago have yet to be rehabilitated. Are the

environmental impacts such as climate change accounted for? Rarely.

The mining project in Niaymgiri will make many local wildlife species

extinct, cut down thousands of trees. The offer made by the company to

make up for this loss is only one-third of the actual costs in terms

of carbon dioxide emissions and release of toxic effluents. Who will

pay the price for it? Not the company. Not the state. It will only

make living hell in this region in Kalahandi for the local people.

 

When local people ask whats in it for us ?- they are labeled as

anti-nationalist. And there are yet any concrete example of how a big

project has even benefited the people who were displaced by the

project. In Uttaranchal , thousands had to vacate their homes to make

way for the Tehri dam- the water will all be diverted to big cities

like Delhi. Once again little explanation of how the dam will benefit

local people who lost their homes.

 

Till we address these basic questions and make sure that the best

rehabilitation packages are offered to those who are physically and

economically displaced there are many Nandigrams in the making. And

theres another dangerous trend- Whether its Orissa, it's the Mabira

forest in Uganda - world over environmental movements are losing their

non-violent nature. An intelligence report within the US has already

warned that future wars will be over natural resources like water. So

as glaciers shrink and the climate changes and we still insist rapid

industrialization without understanding the human and environmental

costs involved- one day it will all be upon us.

 

Posted by Bahar Dutt at 11 : 45 hrs

 

 

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