This picture of Dongria Kondh women won an award in the Arts and Culture category of Media Foundation of India Press Photo Contest 2014. The picture depicts Dongria Kondh primitive tribe women at a gram sabha organised on the orders of the Supreme Court at Kesarpadi in Rayagada district of Odisha in Eastern India. The Niyamgiri Hills region in Odisha is the abode of over 8,000 members of the Dongria Kondh group who face a threat from proposed bauxite mining in the area. Photo: K.R. Deepak
After the Supreme Court empowered the village councils to decide on the Vedanta project , Dongriya Kondh tribal groups rejected the mining project in their traditional forestlands. In this July 22, 2013 picture, tribals are seen carrying water. Photo: K.R. Deepak
Acting on the tribal group's decision the UPA government had to scrap the Vedanta project. File photo: K.R. Deepak
After the resolution opposing mining was adopted, tribal people from neighbouring areas celebrated the ‘success’ of their decade-old agitation. In this July 22, 2013 picture, tribal girls pose for a photograph. Photo: K.R. Deepak
