TOUGHENING their Stand against any measures which could Ultimately displace them are the tribals of four hamlets - Rallavalasa, Karagavalasa, Tuburti and Nimmalapadu - in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Their target of ire is the Rs 270-crore magnesia project of Indian Rayon and Industries Ltd which is part of the Aditya Birla group.

The tribals, backed by a local outfit, Samata, have taken to placing road blocks to prevent the company officials from mining calcite in about 48.6 ha in the tribal belt. They fear that the mining operations could wipe out their habitat and also displace them. Currently, they own fertile land ir the mining area and raise paddy. Large areas of the Eastern Ghats near Visakhapatnam have been leased to the company for calcite mining.

Laying down of a 22 kin road linking Nimmalapadu to the Visakhapatnam highway has also got bogged down in controversy. Ravi Pragada of Samara says that the new road could effectively choke the drains and rivulets leading into the Sharda river and would also deprive the tribals of their land.