Tuesday 22 May 2018

Sterlite protests: 9 dead, 20 injured amid violent clashes in Tamil Nadu

Sterlite Protests

Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu: As many as 9 people were killed on Tuesday and 20 others injured in Tamil Nadu's 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 claim that the plant is causing harm to its employees and increasing the capacity of the plant would aggravate the problems.

Following a gas leak in March 2013, the then chief minister late J Jayalalithaa had ordered its 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.

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders have condemned the deaths during the protest and blamed the government for being unable to control the situation.

Here are the top developments in the Tamil Nadu protests:

1. In a government statement, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswamy confirmed that the death toll had touched nine. He 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.

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