SAMBALPUR: As many as 15 villagers of Budhiapali, protesting against the ongoing coal mining project of NLC India Limited at Talabira in Rengali block, were arrested by police on Thursday. Earlier on the day, 38 villagers were detained by the police from the site where they have been staging dharna since February 10. Budhiapali is one of the villages set to be affected by the project. On February 4, some villagers of Budhiapali had approached the Sambalpur Collector with a memorandum listing their three demands and warned of launching a protest if they are not fulfilled. The demands included permanent jobs at NLCIL to the members of the displaced families, the inclusion of all displaced families under a single category for the award of compensation and valuation of land, acquired by the company, at `80 lakh per acre irrespective of its type.
