Sripura villagers protest Epsilon Carbon over alleged illegal forest land takeover
Jharsuguda: Hundreds of villagers of Sripura on Friday held a protest meeting in front of the gate of Epsilon Carbon Pvt. Ltd. , alleging illegal occupation of forest land by the firm.
The demonstration saw the participation of senior Odisha-based environmentalist Prafulla Samantaray, who expressed solidarity with the villagers and criticised what he described as unchecked industrial encroachment on forest areas.
Villagers alleged that Epsilon Carbon has been occupying forest land in Sripura without obtaining permission from the district administration. They said repeated memoranda submitted to the chief minister, forest minister, revenue minister and the Jharsuguda district collector have failed to yield any concrete action. Although the district collector had reportedly directed the divisional forest officer and the tehsildar to inquire into the matter, the protesters alleged that no field-level investigation has been conducted so far.
Addressing the gathering, Samantaray said companies in Jharsuguda district were increasingly eyeing forest land with vested interests and occupying it illegally. Citing rising environmental pollution in the region, he said such projects should have been opposed from the outset. “If villagers remain united and continue to protect their forest land, companies will not be able to make inroads,” he asserted.
Sripura gram panchayat sarpanch Yashobanti Pandey said not even an inch of forest land would be allowed to be handed over to the company. Environmentalist Ananta Panda, Zilla Parishad member Digambar Majhi and former Zilla Parishad member Minati Patra echoed the sentiment, declaring that villagers would rather risk their lives than allow forest land to be taken over.
