DMK supports stir against Sterlite plant

Chennai: DMK working president M. K. Stalin who has announced to extend his party's support to the ongoing agitation in Tuticorin district in the state against the Sterlite plant, urged the state government to save the lives of the people from the pollution caused by the factory.

The government should order the Sterlite industries to wind up its unit in Tuticorin district if it continues to pollute the area, he said. “The government's duty is to protect the people in the district from the pollution caused by the company's copper smelter plant,” he said and added “Sterlite industries is polluting the Thamirabarani river as well as soil, making it difficult for the farmers to cultivate crops.”

The DMK will support the protests against the company by local people. The people's health was affected and many of them were unable to breathe properly while others were affected by skin ailments, he said and added that “groundwater has copper, arsenic, fluoride and chrome content.” Mr. Stalin alleged that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board failed to take proper steps to prevent the company from causing pollution.

The state government should not grant permission for company's expansion plans and instead initiate measures to check violations by the company, he urged.

Meanwhile, Mr Stalin will chair an emergency meeting of his party's executive committee here on March 30 to discuss the next course of action on the Cauvery issue. Party's general secretary K. Anbazhagan has appealed to the executive committee members to attend the meeting without fail.