“We’ll Give Blood, Not Land”: Panijani Protests Adani Power Project

The Panijani area under the Parbatjhora subdivision in Assam witnessed fresh unrest as local residents strongly opposed the land allotment to the Adani Group for a proposed thermal power project.

The protests erupted after a joint team from the former BLT Welfare Committee and the Parbatjhora Forest Division visited the Panijani site to inspect and identify land for the construction of the power plant. The visit triggered immediate backlash from residents of nearly five to six villages, predominantly from the Bodo community, who staged a fierce demonstration against the proposed land transfer.

Speaking to the media, one of the protesters representing the local communities expressed deep concern over the land acquisition, saying, “We are already facing a land crisis, and now the Adani Group is trying to take away what little we have left. Residents from five to six villages have united to oppose this move. If our land is taken, where will the indigenous people go? We will have no place to live.”

He added emphatically, “They can set up their project elsewhere, but we will not give up our ancestral land. We are ready to shed our blood, but we will not surrender our land.”

Villagers raised slogans such as “Promod Boro Go Back,” “Himanta Biswa Sharma Go Back,” “Hands Off Indigenous Land,” “Stop Anti-Bodo Projects,” and “This Land Is Ours, We Will Not Give It Up,” voicing strong discontent against both the government and the corporate group.

It is noteworthy that this is not the first time the thermal power project has drawn public opposition. The project was initially proposed in Basbari, but sustained protests by locals had stalled the plan. Now, with its potential relocation to Panijani, similar resistance is building up once again.

Local leaders and protesters accused the government of ignoring indigenous rights and warned that any forced land acquisition in the name of development would be met with intensified agitation. They demanded immediate withdrawal of the land allotment process to the Adani Group, calling for a development approach that respects local consent and ecological balance.

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