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Gandhamardhan’s Long Battle: Mining Fears Return to Odisha’s Sacred Hills

Nidhi Jamwal

Bargarh, Odisha: There is an uneasy calm in Kuradiphasa village at the foothills of the Gandhamardhan Hills. “It is the calm before the storm,” says Himanjali Das, who belongs to the indigenous Kondh tribe.

Wearing a t-shirt and trousers, a watch strapped to her wrist, the youth leader in her 20s leans on her steel-blue two-wheeler on which she rides to the various villages of the Paikamal block in Odisha’s Bargarh district.

Das is a young woman with a cause. “If our sacred Gandhamardhan Hills have to be protected from mining, then youth from local Adivasi communities have to come forward. I am one such youth and there are hundreds like me from villages that depend on Gandhamardhan for their livelihoods,” she told IndiaSpend.

“There are reports that mining is likely to return to our hills, and we are preparing for yet another long battle.”

The acquisition of over 45 hectares (ha) of land last year in villages surrounding the hills, by Mahanadi Mines and Minerals Ltd (MMML), a subsidiary of the Adani Group, has rekindled fears of bauxite mining in the area. The Gandhamardhan Hills have rich reserves of bauxite, which is used to make aluminium. Although the company claims that the purchased land is meant for ‘compensatory afforestation’, local communities are suspicious: once bitten, twice shy, they say.

“Forty years ago, when mining on our hills was first proposed, we did not quite understand the implications,” recalled 75-year-old Diamond Bhoi, an Adivasi leader from Goudmal village who went on to be at the forefront of the anti-mining movement of the 1980s. “We thought a road was being built to help us access our forests, and we actually worked as labourers to build the road up the hill.”

“It was only when we heard a loud explosion at the hilltop, did we realise our hills were under threat,” Bhoi, who is from the Adikandh tribe, said. “That day we vowed to drive away the mining company.” A long struggle ensued and the company had to finally leave.

The Gandhamardhan Hill range is a group of hills spread across Odisha’s Bargarh and Balangir districts, adjacent to the Eastern Ghats. Gandhamardhan is rich in biodiversity, non-timbre forest produce (NTFP), and is a repository of a variety of medicinal plants and herbs.

In March 2023, the Odisha government declared about 19,000 hectares (ha) of Gandhamardhan Hills as a Biodiversity Heritage Site. About 12,431 ha of this forest area lies in Bargarh district and the rest in the neighbouring Balangir district, where MMML has recently acquired the land.

It is said that the Gandhamardhan Hills sustain more than a million people through its forests which are rich in mahua, tubers, fruits, honey, mushrooms, hill grass, etc. Twenty two perennial and 54 seasonal streams, including two major tributaries of the river Mahanadi–Ang and Suktel–originate from here and meet the water needs of Bargarh, Balangir, and Nuapada districts.

Besides untold ecological wealth, the Gandhamardhan Hills are home to two sacred sites of strong cultural and historical value. The Nrusinghanath Temple is located at the northern slope and the Harishankar Temple on the southern slope of the foothills. “Our bountiful hills and deities are non-negotiable,” Bhoi said.

The Hills became frontpage news in the 1980s when the state-owned Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) arrived there to mine bauxite. It is estimated that there are about 105 million tonnes of bauxite reserves in these hills, surpassing the 72 million tonnes in the Niyamgiri hills where the Dongoria Kondh, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) in Odisha, led another anti-mining movement in the 2000s.

BALCO encountered stiff resistance from tribal communities in the 200 villages in the region. A sustained five-year protest led by the Gandhamardan Yuva Suraksha Parishad, a local youth organisation, forced BALCO to abandon its plans to mine there.

The fears of the 1980s have resurfaced. “The government must give it in writing that our Gandhamardhan will never be opened for mining or any other destructive projects,” said Bhoi. There has already been a 90-day protest at Paikamal block headquarters earlier this year, and another 45-day protest in Balangir.

Double trouble

Protection of the hills is only a part of the problem, said Adikanda Biswal. He is member of the Manav Adhikar Seva Samiti (MASS), a Paikamal-based non-profit. “The bigger struggle is getting titles over their forests–community forest rights (CFRs)–under the Forest Rights Act of 2006,” he said.

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, 2006 (FRA) known as FRA, gives power and authority to the gram sabha, under Sec 3 (1) (i) and sec 5, to formulate their own system of forest management and governance.

“But gram sabhas in Bargarh are facing several challenges. For instance, in Paikamal block, which is a predominantly tribal block, there are 119 potential CFR villages of which only 28 have received their titles,” Biswal explained. Earlier, gram sabhas were being given CFR titles even over reserve forest land (which is significant, because that’s where communities’ customary forests usually are). Now, the government is restricting titles only to revenue forest land. That effectively shrinks the scope and quality of rights being recognised.

Biswal says that in August 2024, ten CFR titles were distributed in the Paikamal block in which gram sabhas got rights over reserve forest land. “But, this year in June, when 18 more CFRs were granted to gram sabhas, not even a single village got rights over reserve forest land for which they had filed claims.”

It is the same story in the gram sabha of Kurdiphasa, in Mithapalli panchayat. There are 90 households (85 Kondh tribes and 5 others belonging to the Backward Class), and while the gram sabha has filed for CFR over 250 ha of forest, it is yet to receive the title.

“The government is not giving us CFR over our entire forest because it knows that if we get the rights, we will fight even stronger against mining activities and destruction of our forests,” said Nirmal Patel, a Kondh tribe member from Kuradiphasa.

The people of Badibahal village in Bartund panchayat feel short-changed too. “Under FRA, we filed for CFR over 400 acres [about 162 ha] of forest, but we have been granted 174 acres [over 70 ha] only. Also, the granted CFR is only over revenue forest land. We have refused to accept the wrong CFR title,” said Govind Banchur, a resident of the village.

The 18 CFRs that were distributed in June 2025 are still lying at the tehsil office as gram sabhas have refused to accept ‘wrong titles’, said Biswal of MASS.

The website of the Odisha government’s ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department, maintains a record of titles granted under FRA. It says that 35,843 CFR claims were filed by gram sabhas across the state till May 2025. Of these, 8,990 titles covering a forest area of 309,071 ha were distributed, and the rejected CFR claims stand at 578.

In Bargarh district, 1,330 CFR claims were filed by gram sabhas. Of these, 114 CFR titles (less than 9%) were distributed, covering a forest area of 2,973 ha. No CFR claim has been rejected in the district so far.

In Balangir district, 1,610 CFR claims were filed by gram sabhas. Of these, only 12 CFR titles (less than 1%) were distributed covering an area of 1,961 ha.

IndiaSpend reached out to Saroj Kumar Panda, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Bargarh who said, “neither we have any pending application for CFR nor applied or sanctioned recently”. They are in the process of reviving the Vana Samrakshana Samithi (village forest protection committee) and the eco-development committee–both of which operate under India’s Joint Forest Management programme, and constituting Biodiversity Management Committee. He also added that “mining in Gandhamardhan is not in any proposal after the BALCO issue”.

However, to fight for their rights over their forests, villages have come together under an umbrella federation called Gandhamardan Gosthi Jungle Parichalana Mahasangh (Gandhamardhan Community Forest Management Federation). This federation of 40 villages in tribal-dominated Paikamal was formed in 2021, but its genesis lies in the anti-mining movement of the 1980s.

A long journey

In 1981, youth from 200 villages in Bargarh and Balangir districts formed the Gandhamardan Yuva Suraksha Parishad to oppose BALCO’s mining project in the area. Each of these villages had its own 10-member committee that guided the protest movement and mobilised local support.

Para Malik is more than 80 years old. She is grey-haired and bent over, but her eyes sparkle as she recalls the protest of the 1980s. The Kondh woman from Kuradiphasa village animatedly recounted how she and other women butted heads with BALCO.

“For more than a year, women blocked the entry road to the Gandhamardhan Hills. We did not fear for our lives as we lay down in front of JCBs [excavators]. Prisons were overflowing, and some of us here even went to jail for three days, but still did not give up our fight,” she said.

Para Malik does not doubt that if mining were to restart, her sons and daughters would protest strongly and even if they had to go to jail, they would ensure no harm came to the sacred hills.

Kheera Patel was a teenager during the anti-mining movement. She is now a grandmother. She passionately reiterated why the hills were so special to their communities.

“Gandhamardhan takes care of almost all our needs,” Patel said. “For six months in a year, we get a variety of saag, tubers, and mushrooms from it. Our forests are rich in mango and jackfruit too. We also collect mahua, kendu [tendu leaves], amla, bamboo and honey from there.”

Local tribal communities in and around the Gandhamardhan Hills have worked hard to protect and regenerate their forest.

“After BALCO left, a certain complacency had set in,” Diamond Bhoi recalled. “We were so happy with our victory. We thought the battle was over and let our guard down. In the years following our protests, our forests in the Gandhamardhan Hills were degrading. Logging by middlemen continued and by the year 2000, our forests were in a bad shape.”

Villagers decided to take matters into their own hands to save the sacred hills. They patrolled their forests. Women took turns for thengapalli, a traditional system of communities guarding their forests.

In 2005, Pragati Federation, a non-registered body of a handful of local villages, was set up to protect the forests and promote trade of NTFP, such as mahua, kendu, honey, etc. It functioned till 2021 when, to further organise the forest villages and demand CFRs, Pragati Federation gave way to the Gandhamardhan Community Forest Management Federation, which has 40 gram sabhas of the Paikamal block as its members.

The Federation

The Gandhamardhan Community Forest Management Federation is a block-level non-registered body. “Individually, it is difficult for each forest village to fight for its CFR,” said Adikanda Biswal, who has been working with forest villages for over two decades. “The Federation provides a platform where all the villages and other stakeholders, such as community-based organisations, youth leaders, Gandhamardan Yuva Suraksha Parishad, development agencies can come together for a dialogue and resolve issues of the villages across the landscape.”

One of the main aims of the Federation is to help gram sabhas file claims under the FRA, follow up with concerned government agencies, hold meetings with the forest department and help villages resolve their issues.

“All the 40 villages who are a part of the Gandhamardhan federation have filed their CFR claims,” Biswal said. “The process of filing claims started in 2016. But only 28 CFR claims have been finalised so far. These claims are not complete, hence gram sabhas have refused to accept them. It is a stalemate situation in Paikamal.”

The Federation has its own rules that govern its functioning and ensure participation of all member villages. “Each of the 40 villages that is a part of the federation has its own village-level committee known as Community Forest Resource Management Committee. Each committee has between five and 11 members, who are elected by the gram sabha. Half of these members are women,” Biswal explained.

Two members, one woman and one man, from each of these village-level committees are elected and they become members of the block-level federation. Thus, the Gandhmardhan federation has 80 members. It meets on a quarterly basis.

“In April this year, the federation met to discuss the land acquisition by Mahanadi Mines and Minerals Ltd,” said Mahashwar Bhoi from Kansada village in Kansada panchayat of Paikamal. “There was concern that mining activities would begin again. The federation decided that it would oppose any such project tooth and nail.”

Meanwhile, this collective has inspired other villages in Bargarh district to organise themselves into federations to better fight for their forest rights and development of their regions.

These include Padamapur Block Federation and Gaisilet Block Federation, both of which have been formed. Meanwhile, four more block-level federations–Sohela, Bhatli, Ambabhona and Attabira–are being set up.

“Bargarh district has 12 blocks, of which eight blocks are heavily dependent on the forests and forest produce,” Adikanda Biswal said. “After all the block-level federations are formed, we will form a larger district level federation that will be a much bigger multi-factor platform for collective action.”

According to him, these federations have taken up an innovative approach to local governance through multi-actor platform, which brings various stakeholders together to address concerns of villages through dialogue and collaborations.

“Last year, some villages were not getting their FRA titles. So in September 2024, a group of 200-300 villagers of Padampur subdivision decided to gherao their sub-collector. The MLA Barsha Singh Bariha got to know of it and immediately intervened, and the gram sabhas got their CFRA titles,” narrated Biswal. “All this would not have been possible if there was no multi-actor platform to bring stakeholders together for collective action,” he added.

Forest-based livelihoods get a fillip

In the past two decades, the forests have slowly come back to life. And economic benefits have followed in terms of NTFP trade.

“In 2013, villagers around Gandhamardhan Hills started to trade in NTFP, such as kendu, mahua, bamboo, char [chironji], etc. Today, on an average, each tribal family earns Rs 80,000 per year from the NTFP trade alone,” said Adikanda Biswal.

Last year Subalaya Malik, an inhabitant of Kuradiphasa village collected 50 kg char (an edible fruit and kernel) from the forest, which sells for Rs 300 a kg. “I also collected three quintals of mahua and earned Rs 4,000 per quintal. From kendu patta, I earned another Rs 4,000. We also extracted 15 litres of mahua oil for self consumption and 5-6 quintals of honey from the forest,” Malik said.

On average, each tribal household in Kuradiphasa has 1-2 acres of farmland. The Adivasi villagers cultivate a variety of vegetables for their own needs and sell excess produce for additional income.

“Apart from paddy, I grow beans, tomato, ladyfinger, leafy vegetables and paan [betel leaf]. Every morning, I board a bus and go to Paikmal town to sell the produce and return home by noon. This way I earn Rs 400-500 daily,” said Kheera Patel, who is a member of the Federation. “The Federation has helped us organise ourselves and has given us the confidence to face the world.”

Last year, Kheera Patel collected four quintals of mahua from the forest. “On average, each Adivasi family annually earns between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 from mahua alone,” the Adivasi woman said.

Even edible oil is extracted by tribal families themselves, said Para Malik. “We use mahua oil for cooking and we extract it on our own. There is so much mahua in our forest that we cannot harvest it all. Why would we let anyone destroy the forest that feeds us?”

Tribal women like Para Malik and Kheera Patel also collect hill grass from the Gandhamardhan forests and make brooms from it, which sells for Rs 30 per piece. Kuradiphasa village also has a women’s FPO that sells forest honey.

A research paper titled Local Economy and Forest-based Livelihood in Gandhamardan Region of Western Odisha has studied the role Gandhamardhan forests play in the lives of local villagers and their economy. It found about 62% households engaged in activities related to the forest. The study, published in September 2023, concluded that “restricting forest access would negatively affect rural people’s welfare and widen economic gaps”.

Tribal villages in Bargarh see themselves as the real guardians of their forests, and oppose mining tooth and nail. “We hold meetings to raise awareness about the protection of the Gandhamardhan and dangers of mining. We have also written a letter to the BDO [block development officer] informing him that we do not want any mining operations in the Gandhamardhan region,” said Himanjali Das, the youth leader from Kuradiphasa.

Bajaru Dharua uses songs written by villagers to protest and protect Gandhamardhan. “We had written more than 50 bhajans in the 80s,” the 83-year-old traditional healer, who collects medicinal plants and herbs from the Gandhamardhan Hills, told IndiaSpend. “The songs were in Sambalpuri language and they warned people against mining by BALCO. We published them as booklets and circulated them in schools and colleges. Street plays were enacted too. We are prepared for another anti-mining movement.”

His own family earns Rs 40,000 a year from mahua alone. “Today, I sold medicinal plants worth Rs 8,000. People from all across India come to me for nature-based treatment. This is the blessing of our Gandhamardhan,” said the traditional healer.

The 83-year-old broke into a song he had first sung in the 1980s, urging the people to protect the Gandhamardhan Hills at any cost.

[Nidhi Jamwal is an independent journalist based in Mumbai. Courtesy: IndiaSpend, a non-profit online webportal that uses open data to inform public understanding on a range of issues, with the aim of fostering better governance and more transparency and accountability in governance.]

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Endless Monsoons, Endless Trials: An Update from Tijmali (Raygada-Kalahandi)

Ranjana Padhi and Dr Randall Sequeira

Press Release: 08/11/2025

Even as news of more and more investment by Vedanta and Adani makes daily headlines in Odisha, people’s resistance continues, especially Adivasi-Dalit communities opposing bauxite mining plans by Vedanta. They have set up a camp on the hilltop and sitting in protest throughout the long monsoon period and the stormy weather. Despite the summons and prohibitory orders also raining down in this period, they are resolute in resistance.

This is a brief account of the past few months:

1) As mentioned in our last update, throughout June 2025 officials attempted going up the road to the mine area. Villagers had many physical confrontations in stopping JCBs, vehicles and other paraphernalia going there, often at odd hours. This road that goes uphill alongside Sagabari village leads to Malipadar, a village in Rayagada district and then Tijmali, a village in Kalahandi district. Notably, this is happening despite there being no forest clearance as yet. To put an end to these clandestine entries by the administration and the company, Ma Mati Mali Surakhya Manch members barricaded the entry point and set up a camp on top of Podabandha ghati. Since early July, villagers are on vigil day and night. If there is any big event with many people, they cook there too. Else, they come to the camp after having their meal. The involvement of all entails the collection of Rs 10 per house and a small amount of rice each month. From 10 to 100 villagers stay at the camp, taking turns from each village. It is only during the harvest season that the number dropped to 10 as they got busy with harvesting activities. The protest camp that continued throughout the monsoons until now has engendered a spirit of unity and collective resolve to resist mining.

2) On July 11, the visit of Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, fuelled hopes in Tijmali. A small delegation visited him in Bhubaneswar that included Narengi Dei Majhi, Krushna Sikaka, Nityadei Majhi, Tikamani Dei and Binati Katraka. They discussed their demand for cancellation of lease to Vedanta, fresh gram sabhas, withdrawal of the hundreds of police cases and release of those languishing in jail. Rahul Gandhi emphasised on protecting the forests and mountains and having proper gram sabhas by due process as per the Constitution.

3) On July 15, environmentalists, trade unionists, democratic rights activists, housing rights activists and many others organized a collective protest in Bhubaneswar in solidarity with the struggling people of Tijmali. They drew attention to the rising state repression in Raygada and Kalahandi and the arbitrary arrests of villagers opposed to bauxite mining; condemned the continuous spate of summons and prohibitory orders sent out to villagers in Schedule V area; decried the government’s violations of laws of the land like FRA and PESA; and urged the government to uphold the constitutional rights of the people by cancelling the lease given to Vedanta.

4) On 18 July, 2025, the Odisha High Court quashed the order of the Raygada Collector that barred Dr Randall Sequeira from entering the district. In an order on June 5, the doctor had been listed along with 23 others when Medha Patkar was on her way to Tijmali on World Environment Day. Significantly, the Court held that blanket bans on protest activities are contrary to Constitutional values. The Court observed that the government should focus on dialogue rather than exclusion in a constitutional democracy. However, the court also spelt out a list of guidelines and restrictions to be observed for events and programmes held by organizations, including obtaining permissions from the administration.

5) On 2 August, Narengi Dei Majhi of Sagabari was picked from the Raygada District Hospital by the Rayagada police who impersonated as doctors. She was attending to her daughter-in-law who had delivered a baby. Clearly, she was being taken into custody for being part of the delegation that met Rahul Gandhi the previous month. It is still bewildering how and why police came dressed as doctors to take Narengi Dei Majhi into custody.

6) The first week of August, following the arrest of Narengi Dei, witnessed a series of repressive measures by the administration. It was a concerted attempt to stop the celebration of World Indigenous Day (August 9) , known as Adivasi Dibas, in Odisha. First, summons were sent to a large number of villagers on probable breach of peace for organizing an event. The Office of the Sub-Collector (Raygada) served notices to leading activists from Kantamal, Kerpai, Bondel, Sagabari, and Bantej for their “alleged involvement in the antisocial activities of the locality which posed a threat to the peace and tranquillity in the locality.” Second, prohibitory orders were issued to two organizations, namely Ma Mati Mali Surakhya Manch and Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti. Third, prohibitory orders were issued to seven individuals. Among them, the order mentioned pending criminal cases against Lingaraj Azad, Prafulla Samantara, Narendra Mohanty and Medha Patkar to underscore the dangers, apparently inherent, if the programme on August 9 was allowed to take place.

Instead of responding to people’s countless appeals and memoranda submitted to the local administration and all concerned government agencies, the administration is continuously criminalizing people of the region as well as all those who stand up in support for the constitutional rights of Adivasis and Dalits.

7) August 9, World Indigenous Day, was observed not only with these strict warnings but also with drones flying over the area warning villagers not to step out of their houses. Yet, villagers made their way to the event at the protest site at Podbandha ghati. A big group from Talaampadar had to confront police personnel roughing them up. Despite police swarming over the area, over two thousand people attended the event. Laxman Majhi, of Kerpai village, presided over the meeting. As usual, there was an overwhelming presence of women. Erstwhile political leaders of the opposition parties also attended the event although these parties had initially in 2023 allied to support Vedanta’s mining plans.

On August 25, the Forest Advisory Committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change deferred the decision of forest clearance through diversion of 708.2 hectares of forest land for Vedanta. The Advisory Committee directed the government and the company to provide clarification or information on the following issues:

• The state government has provided relevant documents stating that the process under the Forest Rights Act has been completed in a fair and proper manner. However, the state government documents are silent on all the issues raised by the people through their claims and the petition filed in the Orissa High Court (fake, forced and arbitrary Gram Sabha). Notably, the High Court in its judgment had said that the government should address the issues raised by the people and the petitioners.
• Out of the land earmarked for compensatory afforestation of the Vedanta Tijmali Bauxite Project, 8.02 hectares of land has already been earmarked for compensatory afforestation of the Dubna-Sakradihi Mining Project. But the government has not provided information on the current status of afforestation in this area.
• According to the government, the forest area proposed for mining is highly vulnerable to soil erosion due to its steep slopes. Due to deforestation and mining, water will flow rapidly, soil will be eroded and streams will get buried. Further soil erosion will occur due to excavation of topsoil and blasting for mining. No plan has been presented to address the problem of soil erosion.
• According to the information provided by the forest officials, most of the areas earmarked for the proposed compensatory afforestation are covered by slash-and-burn farming and village roads. Accordingly, the government was asked to ensure that the areas intended for conservation afforestation are suitable for planting trees and free from unauthorized entry and to provide a detailed report on each afforestation area. In this regard, the government has only mentioned the detailed plan for conservation afforestation. But the government has not provided the report that is supposed to be given to ensure that each area is free from all kinds of restrictions.
• The government was asked to report that there is no violation of any authority. The government has not said anything in this regard.
• It has been said that there is a presence of elephants in the proposed project area. Therefore, the opinion of the Elephant Project Division should be taken in this regard.

(Source: Minutes of the Forest Advisory Committee meeting held on August 25)

This relief, however temporary, brought rejoice to the people of the region.

9) August and September have been tough both at the court and on the ground as people resist at every level. On one hand, the litigation process for those incarcerated, namely Jaleswar Naik, has become tedious as fresh charges are being foisted. On the other, Vedanta attempted multiple times to begin its Peripheral Development work as part of its CSR activities. People have resisted the construction activities, stopped vehicles from entering the area, stopped the setting up of street lights, all of which were claimed to be part of a Vedanta CSR project.

10) Padman Naik, a leading activist and singer from Bantej village, was arrested on 13 October near Karlapat by Kalahandi Police. A public meeting had been called by Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti, Khandualamali Stai Surakhya Samiti and Maa Mati Mali Surakhya Mancha in Lanjigarh. The district administration had passed an order on October 10 prohibiting the participation of Padman Naik along with 10 others in this event. Prohibiting village activists and leaders from attending their own programmes and events and arresting them for the same has become the modus operandi. The hundreds of fabricated charges that the administration of these two districts have accumulated over the last two years comes handy for arrests.

11) On 17 October , a small meeting of Maa Mati Mali Surakhya Manch was planned to discuss the continuing police repression on the movement. What was intended as a small meeting turned out into a massive protest with close to 2000 people coming from villages in Raygada and Kalahandi to Serambai village at the foot of Majinghimali. The police cordoned of the two roads leading to Serambai to prevent people from coming to the meeting. Effigies of Vedanta, Adani and Mythri companies were garlanded with footwear. From 11 am onwards, many women and men shared their own stories of resistance to company agents. A lot of singing took place. A new version of Gaon Chadabo Nahin was sung by Reena Majhi of Talaampadar village. Many women expressed rage at being stopped on the way to the Lanjigarh event of October 12. Demands to release Narengi Dei Majhi, Padman Naik, Jaleswar Naik, Ramakant Naik and Sundarsingh Majhi rent the air. Many Boleros with police passed by the meeting twice but songs, slogans and axes raised on shoulders kept all at bay. Finally, there was joyful dancing with the burning of the effigies and people pledged to protect their land and hills and their supreme deity, Tij Raja.

Contact email ID of the authors: formountainsandforests@gmail.com

[Courtesy: Countercurrents.org, an India-based news, views and analysis website, that describes itself as non-partisan and taking “the Side of the People!” It is edited by Binu Mathew.]