Hundreds of Innocent Tribals Dragged to Police Station for Opposing Mining
 
Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
 
Panaji, Apr 24: Around 100-odd tribals from Cauvrem village claimed that they were mercilessly dragged into police vans and arrested after they protested against rampant illegal mining in their village on Saturday April 23.
 
The village, located 80 km south of Panaji, erupted in protest following two major accidents by the mining trucks reported in last week. The tribals have been agitating against the illegal mining, which has severely affected their livelihood.

On Saturday morning, when protestors blocked the mining truck traffic, they were ruthlessly dragged into police vans and placed under arrested by Quepem police.
 
“The brutality was such that male constable tore off the saree of a woman while lady constables played role of onlookers,” said Tulsidas Velip, activist of Cauvrem Adivasi Bachao Samiti.
 
Velip said that the villagers had asked for the inspection of working mine sites in their village. “We are apprehensive about these mines as they are operating without proper environment clearance,” he said.
 
Cauvrem villagers, earlier, last month had forced the state government to close an illegal mine, which had threatened to destroy the mountain, which has been considered as sacred by the tribals.
 
Another activist, Nilesh Gaonkar, said that mines department has not responded to their request to inspect the documents of these mine sites.
 
There are three mine sites operating in this village, which had agrarian economy  till mining began.
 
Gaonkar said that the chilly and paddy cultivation has been destroyed almost by 90 percent due to mining silt. “The farmers requested state agriculture department to inspect the fields but that request too was turned down,” he said.
 
The tribals claim that they had resorted to the agitation only after exhausting all the possible ways to curb illegal mining.
 
A village elder said that the trucks are overloading resulting in the dust pollution. “None of the officers from Transport department is bothered to regulate these trucks,” he said.
 
The tribals who were given bail on Saturday evening had refused to leave the police station questioning police action of arresting them.
 
“We will leave the police station only after telling us why we were arrested. Is it wrong to protest against illegalities,” questioned a 61-year-old lady, who claimed that her mangalsutra was broken in the melee that followed after police atrocities.