British mining company threatens sacred mountain

http://www.survival-international.org/films/mine

To be a Dongria Kondh is to live in the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa state, India – they do not live anywhere else. Yet Vedanta Resources is determined to mine their sacred mountain’s rich seam of bauxite (aluminium ore).

The Dongria and other local Kondh people are resisting Vedanta and are determined to save Niyamgiri from becoming an industrial wasteland.

Other Kondh groups are already suffering due to a bauxite refinery, built and operated by Vedanta, at the base of the Niyamgiri Hills.

The Niyamgiri Hills are home to the more than 8,000 Dongria Kondh, whose lifestyle and religion have helped nurture the area’s dense forests and unusually rich wildlife.

The Dongria farm the hill slopes, grow crops in among the forest, and gather wild fruit, flowers and leaves for sale.

They call themselves Jharnia, meaning ‘protector of streams’, because they protect their sacred mountain and the life-giving rivers that rise within its thick forests.

Vedanta’s open pit mine would destroy the forests, disrupt the rivers and spell the end for the Dongria Kondh as a distinct people.

Act now to help the Dongria Kondh

Your support is vital if the Dongria Kondh are to survive. There are many ways you can help.

* Write to the Prime Minister of India asking his government to safeguard the Dongria Kondh’s rights.
* Donate to the Dongria Kondh campaign (and other Survival campaigns).
* Write to your MP or MEP (UK) or Senators and members of Congress (US).
* Write to your local Indian high commission or embassy.
* If you want to get more involved, contact Survival…