Thousands of tribals converged in Dantewada to expose an alleged multi-crore mining scam and protect their ancestral hills from private corporations.

Bappi ray – The Lens,

DANTEWADA, 14 June 2026 — Thousands of Adivasi villagers have marched out of the dense forests of Bijapur, Sukma, and Dantewada to lay siege to the district headquarters. They’ve walked for five grueling days under the banner of the ‘Jungle Bachao Padyatra’, bringing the historic struggle for Jal, Jungle, and Zameen—water, forest, and land—to a critical breaking point. It’s a massive, organized demonstration of indigenous power aimed squarely at the state government and the corporate mining machines currently carving up the Bastar region.

The Bastariya Raj Morcha organized this convergence to stop two specific operations dead in their tracks. Protesters are demanding the immediate cancellation of mining projects awarded to Aarti Sponge and Power Limited in Alnar, alongside the deeply controversial Bhansi Deposit 4 project in the Bailadila hills. But they aren’t just fighting environmental destruction. They’ve leveled serious accusations of a massive, coordinated corporate fraud.

Villagers and local representatives allege Aarti Sponge is running a multi-crore scam entirely on paper. The company’s ledgers reportedly show massive mineral production and constant transport operations moving out of the forest. Yet, the ground reality in Alnar tells a completely different story. Protesters confirm there aren’t any systematic roads capable of handling industrial transport, nor is there any visible mining activity happening at the site. They didn’t just bring these claims to the streets. Local leaders marched straight to the Kirandul police station to file a formal complaint, demanding officers register an FIR against the corporation for fabricating production data.

Social activist Soni Sori didn’t mince words as she marched alongside the villagers, turning her focus to the state’s broader political strategy. She accused authorities of weaponizing their recent security operations to clear the path for immediate industrial takeovers. The government’s relentless public relations campaign declaring Bastar a “Naxal-free” zone is simply a pretext to hand indigenous lands over to corporate interests, Sori alleged.

“If the government claims the area is free of Naxals, why are our mountains immediately being given away for mining?” Sori asked the crowds.

She didn’t hesitate to point to heavy machinery currently tearing through the hills, cutting unauthorized roads into the mountainsides long before anyone secured proper, informed consent from the tribal communities living there. She insisted the state’s priorities lie with profit, not the people who’ve protected these forests for generations.

Bastariya Raj Morcha founder Manish Kunjam took the stage to frame the ultimate stakes. He told the gathered thousands that the state views the Bailadila hills as nothing more than lucrative iron ore reserves waiting for extraction. For the Adivasis, those exact hills hold their faith, their ancient culture, and their very right to exist. Kunjam directly challenged the district officials sitting just beyond the protest lines. Under whose pressure is the local administration actively delaying action against this alleged Alnar paper scam? He demanded transparency from officials who’ve remained totally silent while the Adivasi lands face irreversible destruction.

Corporate representatives don’t agree with the allegations.

Aarti Sponge representative PS Thakur dismissed every claim of fraud as completely baseless. Thakur stated that Aarti Sponge has legitimately generated transport bills—locally known as bilty—for every single ton of iron ore moved out of Alnar. He forcefully maintained that the company didn’t bring a single piece of equipment into the region until they secured official, documented permission from the local Gram Sabha.

The protesters don’t accept that paperwork. They’ve handed a formal memorandum directly to the District Collector, laying down a strict 15-day ultimatum. They expect the administration to cancel the mining leases, revoke the agreements handing over the Bailadila hills, and force the private corporations out of Bastar. And if officials ignore these demands to protect indigenous rights, organizers warned the movement will immediately take a much more aggressive, militant turn across the entire region.

Thousands of villagers echoed a single promise: if the mountains survive, Bastar will survive, and if the forests survive, the Adivasis will survive.

They’ve drawn their final line in the iron-rich dirt.