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Tribe offers sacrifices to stop mine
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| AN ancient Indian tribe opposed to an alumina refinery by Britain’s Vedanta Resources has sacrificed dozens of chickens and goats in the hope their gods will prevent the firm’s mining plans. |
| Vedanta wants to dig open-cast mines in the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa state to feed an alumina refinery it has already built in the area. |
| But the local Kandha tribe says the mine will destroy hills they consider sacred, force them from their homes and destroy their forest-dependent livelihoods. |
| Many of them participated at the weekend in a ritualistic sacrifice of chickens and goats as an offering to their gods and vowed to fight Vedanta off their lands. |
| “We performed the rituals because some of us have seen the gods in dreams telling us to protect the hills, Kumuti Majhi, a tribal woman leader, said today. |
| After protests, India’s Supreme Court barred Vedanta in November from mining bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills. |
| The case comes up for hearing this week. |
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