Anti-Sterlite protesters enter church in Kudankulam redux

By protesting inside the Church they are planning to bring the anti-Sterlite protest similar to anti-Kudankulam agitation.  

The protest against Sterlite Copper commenced by the residents of Kumareddiyapuram village near Thoothukudi had spread far and wide in the district as residents of many villages, located nearby Sterlite, joined the protest. As days passed the intensity of the protest had increased and it had worried the administrators. 

Thoothukudi Collector N Venkatesh said that peaceful demos by the protesters had turned violent with the entry of miscreants and any violence cannot be tolerated. He also asked the protesters to withdraw their protests as the plant is not being operated at present. The request did not deter the protesters from choosing a new place for protest, the Church. Black flags were raised and black balloons were tied to the pole present outside the Madha Church and the protesters started protesting on the Church premises. 

Earlier, on Saturday night, they decided to put shamiana opposite to the Church, but the district administration denied permission. So the protesters started staging protest on the Church premises. Though prohibitory orders under section 144 is in place in Thoothukudi to observe the birth anniversary of Veeran Sundaralingam, the Commander-in-Chief of legendary king Veera Pandiya Kattabomman, police could not arrest the protesters as they were inside the Church premises. 

Close to 200 protesters led by social activist Arthur staged a demo. Arthur said that they will continue the protest till the complete closure of Sterlite Copper. He also said that they will not move out of the Church till the final closure. 

Though the Madha Church had not officially extended its help to the protest it had neither opposed protesters moving onto its premises nor had opposed the black flags and balloons. With the move, anti-Sterlite protest have turned similar to the one held against the Kudankulam project in which the focal point was ‘Our Lady of Lourdes Church’ also called the Madha Church. 

Demanding the permanent closure of Sterlite Copper, MDMK leader Vaiko had decided to carry out a vehicle rally throughout Thoothukudi district for four days.  Vaiko would start his rally from Kovilpatti on Tuesday evening at 4 pm. His rally has been split into two phases. In the first phase, he would cover northern part of Thoothukudi district, on Tuesday and Wednesday and the southern parts on April 21 and 22. After the end of his rally, he would address a mega public meeting in Thoothukudi near VVD signal, the traditional ground for protests. In all the four days, Vaiko would start his rally only in the evenings and is expected to travel and address vehicles in an open vehicle.

AIADMK’s Srivaikuntam constituency MLA SP Shanmuganthan on Sunday demanded the state government to permanently close Sterlite Copper. He said that Sterlite Copper is harmful for the environment and for the people of Thoothukudi and their single demand is to shut it down permanently. The state government should cancel all the permits issued to Sterlite Copper, be it the permit issued by Panchayat Union or by any of the government departments and should ensure that the company is removed from Tamil Nadu soil permanently. More and more villagers are joining the protests daily and the government by taking into account the sentiments of people should close the plant permanently, he noted.