Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu: The Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench on Wednesday stayed the ongoing construction of a new copper smelter at Sterlite Copper’s Tuticorin plant.
A day before, as many as 11 people had been killed and 20 others injured at Thoothukudi, or Tuticorin, as a protest against Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper unit — going on for 100 days since the company announced its plans to invest Rs 25 billion in doubling the capacity of its existing facility to 800,000 tonnes per annum — turned violent. The protesters claimed the plant had been causing harm to its employees and increasing the capacity of the plant would aggravate the problems.
Meanwhile, the Union home ministry has sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government over the incident in Tuticorin.
Following a gas leak in March 2013, the then chief minister late J Jayalalithaa had ordered the plant’s closure, following which the company moved the National Green Tribunal. With the tribunal overturning the government order, the state moved the Supreme Court against it, and the petition has been pending since.
Top developments in the Sterlite protests are:
In a government statement, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswamy announced Rs 1 million for those who lost family members, Rs 300,000 for people who were injured severely, and Rs 100,000 for those with minor injuries..
DMK has called for an all-party protest on May 25 over the Sterlite protest incident.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi called the deaths during the protest “a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism”.”The gunning down by the police of nine people in the #SterliteProtest in Tamil Nadu is a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
The Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench on Wednesday put a stay on the ongoing construction of a new copper smelter by Sterlite Copper in Tuticorin under its capacity expansion efforts, according to ANI reports.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(MDMK) Chief Vaiko on Wednesday met those injured during protests against Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper.Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan also met those who were injured during the anti-Sterlite protests at General Hospital in Tuticorin. The families of the victims said they were facing difficulties because of his visit and asked him to leave, ANI reported.MNM, along with other Opposition partiesm, had condemned the violence that took place on Tuesday and blamed the AIADMK-led Tamil Nadu government for the unrest and deaths in the state.
In an official statement, Sterlite Copper late on Tuesday expressed regret and sorrow over the deaths that took place during protests against it in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin. The company said it had appealed to the government to ensure safety of the employees of the plant, as well as the surrounding communities.”It’s with great sorrow and regret that we witnessed today’s incidents around the protest today at Tuticorin. The company has appealed to government and authorities to ensure the safety of our employees, facilities and surrounding communities. Sterlite Copper plant is non-operational as we await approval for the consent to operate,” the statement read.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working President M K Stalin on Tuesday cancelled his attendance to the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-elect H D Kumaraswamy as he said he would be meet the protestors on Wednesday.”I am going to Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) tomorrow to meet those who are affected due to and are protesting against the Sterlite Plant,” Stalin told reporters.”I am not going to attend Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony tomorrow. I cancelled it due to the incident which took place in Thoothukudi,” he added.
A government official on Tuesday said that around 20,000 people took part in the protest which soon turned violent. According to the statement, protesters allegedly attacked the police personnel, burnt police vehicles and vandalised the collector’s office and police resorted to firing only after they couldn’t control the mob.
Section 144 of CrPc had been invoked in and around the Sterlite unit to provide security to it, according to the orders of the Madras High Court, the police said.
Prasanta Patnaik