Sharing the concerns of the Dongria Kondh tribe of Niyamgiri in Kalahandi district whose protests had put a halt to Vedanta’s bauxite mining plan two years ago, over hundreds of tribals, under the banner of Mali Parbat Surakhya Samiti and Koraputia Jana Surakshya Sangha, gathered at the foothills of Mali Parbat, about 15 kms from Semiliguda in Koraput district yesterday to protest against bauxite mining by Hindalco Industries Ltd at Mali Parbat area. Armed with traditional weapons, the tribals, led by Balaram Khara, Gupta Khara, Dasharatha Khilla, Trinath Gamel and Purna Jani of Mali Parbat Surakhya Samiti, detained four soil loaded vehicles engaged by Hindalco company at Kakariguda junction under Semiliguda block till late evening till the arrival of the police who later urged them to call off their demonstration. Incidentally, the Mali Parbat, spread over 270 hectares with a dense forest cover, has around 17 million tonnes of bauxite reserves with an average 44 percent alumina content. The Mali Parbat Surakhya Samiti, which is spearheading the agitation, claims that around 10,000 tribals of 44 villages in Sorispoda, Kankadambo, Tentuliguda, Mugunaguda, Doliamba and Pankajhola gram panchayats will be affected if mining is taken up at the sacred hill. It may be mentioned that the State Government had granted Hindalco, a sister concern of Aditya Birla Group , bauxite lease in over 270 hectares in Mali Parbat for a period of 20 years in November 2007. Actual mining activities had started through a contractor engaged by the company in May 2008. The operation was going on smoothly for about two years before it was stopped due to stiff opposition by the tribals in 2010. Things again reached a flash point last month when some contractors attempted to resume operation which was stalled by the tribals. “The mining operation has been stopped in the area for the last two years due to the resistance of the local people. When we tried to resume work from the last month through our contractors, they again protested”, sources in the company said. Though the District Administration has formed a peace committee to find out a long-term solution, the impasse still continues.