Sterlite nameboards blackened in Thoothukudi, stir intensifies

Meelavittan, Vadakusankaraperi, Therkuveerapandiyapattinam and Pandarampatti are the four villages that are the latest to join the protests. The protesters said that they would continue their agitation till the Sterlite Copper plant, owned and operated by Vedanta Resources, a multi-national company, was closed and assured that they would fight alongside the people of Kumareddiyapuram. 

Justifying the demand to close the plant, the protestors claimed there was no second thought about Sterlite polluting Thoothukudi and neighbouring villages. 

Meanwhile, the stir against the plant that started on February 12 this year entered its 53th day on Thursday. Taking the ‘Ban Sterlite’ campaign to the next stage, some protesters have black painted signages and advertisement boards of corporation parks in Thoothukudi that bear the name ‘Sterlite Copper’. 

Protesters headed by activist and lawyer, Athisaya Kumar, applied black paint on the name ‘Sterlite Copper’, visible on all the advertisement boards put up across the parks maintained the civic body. 

While doing so, protesters shouted slogans against the plant and demanded the government to shut Sterlite Copper and thus, save residents of Thoothukudi from polluted air and water. 

Athisaya Kumar claimed that Sterlite had bribed politicians and government officials to put its name on advertisement boards, under the pretext of maintaining the public parks. The company’s strategy was to show a ‘green face’ to the public. 

However, on the darker side, Sterlite Copper was responsible for the pollution in the region leading to health problems, said Kumar. Protesters.