Activists want government to take over Sterlite plant
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The Anti-Sterlite Thoothukudi People’s Movement on Monday mentioned the State government should take over the complete Sterlite Copper premises, dismantle the copper smelter unit and “other harmful units” there and “then start operating the oxygen plant under its control”.
Warning of intensified protests if the oxygen manufacturing is used for backroom revival of operations of the copper smelter unit, Krishnamurthy, a consultant of the motion, mentioned,
“If it is opened again, the people will uproot it completely through their revolution.” The anti-Sterlite motion was an natural one and never depending on political assist, he mentioned.
The police arrested 10 members of the motion after they tried to stage a dharna in entrance of the Collectorate within the afternoon, following the government-convened all-party assembly’s decision to quickly enable the oxygen plant on the Sterlite premises to function to meet oxygen wants of COVID-19 sufferers.
They have been taken to a wedding corridor by the police. “They will be released only if they give an undertaking that they will not indulge in any protest in the future. If not, they will be remanded in judicial custody,” a police officer mentioned.
In the morning, the members, led by Mr. Krishnamurthy, submitted a petition on the Collector’s Office.
Mr. Krishnamurthy alleged that Sterlite, with an ulterior motive to reopen its closed copper smelter, had proposed to produce oxygen within the guise of serving to COVID-19 sufferers.
Even although the general public had vociferously opposed the transfer through the public listening to, the Union Government was eager on giving it permission to reopen, he mentioned.
He instructed that Vedanta might produce oxgen in its steel corporations based mostly in Korba in Chhattisgarh, Bhadaguda in Odisha, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Gurgoan in Haryana and Chitradurga in Karnataka. “Since north India is now facing an acute oxygen crisis, Vedanta can easily supply gas from these places,” he mentioned.
Anticipating unrest, the police, led by Deputy Inspector General of Police Praveen Kumar Abinapu, made elaborate safety preparations in Thoothukudi, with Superintendents of Police S. Jayakumar of Thoothukudi and Suguna Singh of Tenkasi shifting round.
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