Protests Against Corporative Loot in Odisha, India

Featured image: Peasants protest against corporate loot, Rayagada district, Odisha. Source: Social media.

At around 3 AM on 7 April 2026, armed police forces reportedly surrounded the village of Kantamal, in the Rayagada district of Odisha. The repressive forces cut off electricity, broke down doors, carried out baton charges, used tear gas and opened fire, unleashing what has been labeled by the peasants as a “terror operation”. Several peasants were injured, and they also killed a cow and vandalized their vehicles.

State officials claimed that clashes took place and around 40 police officers were injured, including senior officials.

This repressive operation takes place in the context of the indigenous peasant struggle against the mining projects of Vedanta Company, which tries to disposes and displace the Dalit and Adivasi peasantry, and to loot the bauxite of the area.

Over the past weeks protests against a road construction project have taken place. This project, only serves the interests of the corporative loot in the area. The road was linked to the bauxite mining activities in the Sijimali area. The peasants oppose the project as this threatens their land and livelihood. The owner of the mining project is the big corporation Vedanta Limited, one of the main Indian corporations which displaces and dispossess the poor peasantry in Central India. The Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) already condemned the role of this corporation:

https://redherald.org/2026/03/16/india-facam-central-india-in-the-final-war/

The old Indian State decided to apply a curfew, forbidding the assembly of more than four people within a 100-meter radius for a month in an attempt to quell the protest and to hand over the wealth of the area to the corporations. Following this order, the village of Kantamal has been surrounded by police and administration authorities. Peasants denounce that a heavy police and paramilitary deployment has taken place.