From correspondents in India, 04:31 PM IST

Thousands of people from all over the country gathered here Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of the deaths of 13 tribals killed in police firing while protesting a Tata Steel plant in the Kalinganagar industrial complex.

Over 500 tribals tonsured their heads as part of a religious ritual to mourn the dead, said Rabindra Jarika, a leader of the Vistapan Virodhi Janmanch, an umbrella outfit of tribals involved in the movement against the Tata project.

More than 10,000 tribals, many of them with their traditional arms and weapons, congregated at the site from all over the state and the country and walked in a procession to the firing spot, in Kalinganagar in Jajpur district, 100 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar.

Activist Medha Patkar and author Mahashweta Devi are expected to attend the congregation, called Adivasi Mahameli, said Jarika.

The police firing that killed 13 people, including three women, intensified the debate between development and displacement. Saying they have not been adequately compensated for their land, over 500 people clashed with the police at the industrial complex.

The tribals have built a 70-feet high memorial pillar at Ambagadia village where all the victims were cremated.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)