Erstwhile Orissa royals fight over alumina project By Jatindra Dash, Indo-Asian News Service Bhubaneswar, June 11 (IANS) An upcoming alumina project in Orissa has re-ignited an old feud in an erstwhile royal family. Sterlite Industries (SIL) is going to set up a Rs.40-billion alumina refinery complex in drought-prone Kalahandi district that is expected to be operational in three years. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation of the project last Sunday. Bikram Keshari Deo, an erstwhile maharajah who represents the Kalahandi region in the Lok Sabha, attended the function, endorsing the project. But his brother Udit Pratap Deo and nephew Ananta Pratap Deo oppose the project, calling it anti-tribal. Bikram and Udit are the sons of Kalahandi's late maharajah Pratap Keshari Deo who represented the region in the Lok Sabha for five consecutive terms since 1956. "I am committed to developing Kalahandi by encouraging more industries in the region," Bikram Deo told IANS. But Udit said: "The upcoming plant is against the interest of the local residents." Udit and his son Ananta have been distributing leaflets among tribals in the region, requesting them to oppose the project. "My grandfather had a very close relationship with the tribal people and he always took care of them," the leaflet signed by Ananta said. "We will oppose the project and fight for tribals till our last breath," it said. Infighting in Kalahandi's erstwhile royal family came to light when Udit fought the 1990 Lok Sabha election on a Janata Dal nomination against his brother Bikram of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJPs) and was defeated. Although Udit has since left Janata Dal, he has been opposing many of Bikram's initiatives in the region. Now his son has joined him. "The Sterlite Industries project has added fuel to Bikram and Udit's infighting," Biranchi Panda, a long time associate of the royal family, told IANS. SIL needs 1,073 hectares of area containing bauxite and 720 hectares of land to set up the plant at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi. Most of the land has already been acquired. The plant and the mines would displace 60 families, but the company plans to build houses for rehabilitation, according to a state government official. The plant is expected to provide direct employment to about 1,000 people and indirect employment to about 3,000 people. However, a large number of local tribal residents have formed Niyamagiri Surakhya Parisad, an organisation to oppose the project. "Tribals in Kalahandi would in no way benefit from the project," said Ghanasyam Majhi, a tribal leader. "Rather it will cause environmental degradation and possibly loss of livelihood for local people in the long run," Majhi said. "The royal family's support has strengthened our campaign," he said __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/