File Picture Courtesy : Live mint
A shutdown called by the DMK-led opposition condemning the police firing that killed 13-anti-Sterlite copper plant protestors in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi, met with mixed response .
While state-owned transport corporations were found operating their buses, autorickshaw drivers owing allegiance to opposition party trade union wings kept off the roads as the dawn-to-dusk shutdown kicked in. Shops and hotels kept their shutters downed while offices functioned as usual.
In Thoothukudi, shops and hotels have remain closed from Tuesday onwards after the police firing, S.Raja of the traders association told IANS. According to reports , stray incidents of stone pelting government buses have occurred in Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam districts.
Earlier, the DMK and other opposition parties in Tamil Nadu had called a dawn-to-dusk bandh in the state over the death of 13 people in police firing in protests against the Sterlite Company in Tuticorin.
The DMK has demanded the resignation of the E Palaniswami-led state government, accusing it of being a “BJP puppet”. Party MP Kanimozhi accused the Modi government of remote-controlling the Tamil Nadu government and alleged that the Sterlite factory was able to thrive because of the support it received from the central and state governments.
“It is important to know who ordered the police firing that killed 13 protesters,” the Rajya Sabha MP said. In twitter she expressed her anguish over the issue
The Madras HC’s order today restraining the expansion of Sterlite Plant is timely and commendable.
1/2— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) May 23, 2018
The court has said that “the toll extracted on available resources, water & soil regimes by such industries, cannot also be lost sight of”. TN government should take the cue and take action to shut down the plant.
2/2
— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) May 23, 2018
In a statement, the DMK said instead of the all-party protest, a bandh would be observed to condemn the police action and demand the closure of the Sterlite copper smelting plant in Tuticorin district.
Stating that the people living in Tuticorin and its neighbouring districts were angered by the police action against the agitators, the release said, “The bandh will also reflect the feelings of Tamils.”
“The DMK, the All India National Congress, the Dravidar Kazhagam, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the CPI, the CPI(M), the Indian Union Muslim League, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi will participate in the day-long state-wide protest,” it added.
The police action in Tuticorin followed mass protests against the factory that locals say was depleting the water table in the region and also causing health hazards.
