Vedanta serenades tribals with Kui songs

In a bid to clear its 'anti-tribal image' created over an unsuccessful move to start mining on the Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district, Vedanta Resources has released a music album in Kui, a dialect used by the Dongriya Kondh tribes.

In a bid to clear its 'anti-tribal image' created over an unsuccessful move to start mining on the Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district, Vedanta Resources has released a music album in Kui, a dialect used by the Dongriya Kondh tribes.

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The music album titled — Niyamgiri ti Rani — produced by Krishna Movie Association with help of the Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL), contains eight songs, the voice for which were lent by tribal artists.

Diwani.. Diwani..., a music number sung by Jitu Jakasika, a Dangaria Kandha youth who recently turned pro-Vedanta after opposing it for a long time, said that the theme of his song was based on the emotional feelings of the people of his community.

Orissa's tribal development minister Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha released the album in presence of former Oriya cinestar and BJD MP Siddhant Mohapatra, former minister Balabhadra Majhi and VAL's COO Mukesh Kumar.

Kumar rejected allegations that the music album is the company's bid to appease tribals, particularly Dangaria Kondhs who opposed its mining project at Niyamgiri hills.

"It is part of the company's social corporate responsibility (CSR)," Kumar claimed.