Heavy deployment of police personnel in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, as hundreds of residents and activists stage an anti-Sterlite protest on Tuesday (Source: ANI)

At least 12 people have lost their lives and nine others were critically injured in police firing which took place as protests against Sterlite’s industrial plant intensified in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin). Residents have been demanding the closure of the plant, citing that the pollution it generates is causing serious health issues. The agitation against Sterlite Copper, which represents the copper unit of Vedanta Limited, recently escalated after the company announced the expansion of its unit in the city. Sterlite Copper, which currently operates a 400,000-tonne per annum unit in the city, maintains it has received necessary permits and has not violated any norms.

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The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, in an interim order, stayed the expansion of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper’s industrial unit on Tuesday. The bench insisted that the company seeks public consultation before expanding its plant.

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami on Tuesday ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident and announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of those who died.</s>NEW DELHI (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed in India’s Tamil Nadu state on Tuesday when police fired at violent protesters calling for the closure of a copper smelter run by Vedanta Resources, authorities said.

The state’s chief minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, said police had been forced to act after the protests turned violent, and that nine people had been killed. The state’s governor put the death toll at 11.

The head of the national opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, condemned the use of lethal force, calling it “a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism”.

Residents of the port city of Thootukudi, located at the tip of the Indian subcontinent, and environmentalists have been demonstrating for more than three months against the copper plant, one of India’s biggest, alleging that it is a major source of pollution and a risk to fisheries.

On Tuesday, a crowd waving black flags stormed the district government headquarters and an apartment block for Vedanta employees, a company official said, declining to be named for fear of being targeted.

Protesters set vehicles on fire and threw stones at police, Palaniswami said in a statement.

He said police had been forced to act “since protesters disregarded a curfew, acted against the advice of police”, and indulged in violence.

“MURDERED FOR PROTESTING”

Gandhi tweeted: “The gunning down by the police of nine people in ... Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured.”

Local television showed police trying to disperse the crowd with tear gas and a policeman firing shots from the top of a van. Smoke rose from several parts of the city.

State Minister D. Jayakumar said in a televised address that it had been “unavoidable” for police to fire on protesters.

The plant, which can produce 400,000 tonnes of copper a year, has been shut for more than 50 days and will remain closed until at least June 6 because the local pollution regulator has said it is not complying with environmental rules.

Environmental activists and some local politicians want the government to shut the plant permanently.

“The inaction of the government has led to the people’s protests, and police resorting to firing to control it. Action should be taken to shut down the plant immediately to address this issue,” M.K. Stalin, leader of the main opposition group in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, said in a Facebook post.

Women shout slogans during a protest against the government and police forces after at least nine people were killed when police fired at protesters calling for the closure of a Vedanta Resources-controlled copper smelter in Thootukudi, in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, in Chennai, India, May 22, 2018. REUTERS/P.Ravikumar

Vedanta says the protests are based on “false allegations”, and that it plans to double capacity at the smelter to 800,000 tonnes per year.

“We would like to restart the plant as soon as possible, in a peaceful manner,” P. Ramnath, chief executive of Vedanta Ltd’s copper business, told Reuters.

The plant was shut for more than two months in 2013 by an environmental court after residents complained about emissions.</s>British mining and energy group Vedanta Resources Plc is working with regulators to expedite restarting its copper smelter in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, it said on Wednesday, a day after protests turned violent at the plant. The company also posted a 27 percent rise in full-year core profit to $4.1 billion, driven by stronger commodity prices.

At least nine people were killed on Tuesday, when police fired at violent protesters calling for the closure of the Thootukudi copper smelter, which is run by its Indian subsidiary Vedanta Ltd’s Sterlite Copper unit.

Demonstrations against the copper plant, one of India’s biggest, have been going on for more than three months, with protesters alleging that it is a major source of pollution and risk to fisheries, and demands the plant be shut permanently.</s>The Madras High Court also asked the state government to hold a public hearing on the matter while processing a fresh environmental clearance for Vedanta Ltd.'s Sterlite Copper smelting plant in the port city of Tuticorin. The clearance is due to expire later this year, Poongkhulali Balasubramanian, the petitioner's lawyer, told CNN.

The decision comes after 11 people were killed in protests Tuesday and Wednesday in clashes with authorities, according to Tuticorin's deputy superintendent of police, R. Chin Ram.

Local residents and activists have been demonstrating at the plant for several months.

Activists have now shifted the focus of their campaign in response to the violent approach taken by authorities. They are also pushing for the existing factory to be closed.

"The hope, the demand is for a total and permanent shutdown of Vedanta Sterlite's operation in Tamil Nadu, which means the existing factory should be shut down and no further expansions should be allowed," Nityanand Jayaraman, a social activist, told CNN. "There is a total shutdown of all shops. Businesses in the city have announced that they will remain shut indefinitely. There are no protests on the street because there is an uneasy calm with the kind of violence that the police unleashed yesterday, which left 10 killed, including two women," added Jayaraman. "All of them were shot. Shot in the heads or on the chest and it looks like the government had no intention of just dispersing the crowd but actually to intimidate and strike terror." Following the violence on Tuesday, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu's chief minister, ordered an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the shootings but stood by the security force's actions. Palaniswami issued a statement saying that police were "compelled to take preventative measures to bring the violence under control" after protesters pelted officers with stones and set fire to police vehicles and other vehicles parked nearby. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Indian National Congress party, said on Tuesday the protesters were "gunned down by the police," before criticizing the police action as "state sponsored terrorism" on his Twitter account. "There's been a build-up of resentment against the company by the people and a very deep-rooted sense of betrayal that the people harbor against the government of Tamil Nadu and the government of India, which they see as backing a private corporation and forsaking their interest," said Jayaraman. Protesters have accused the plant, owned by London-based mining giant Vedanta Resources, of polluting groundwater and causing damage to the environment. "Copper manufacturing is an extremely polluting industry. It was set up in Tamil Nadu after it was driven out of a different state, Maharashtra, because the people protested against the potential of pollution and it was relocated to Tuticorin. From the day it set foot in Tamil Nadu, the people have been protesting against it but the company is very resourceful and tends to develop extremely good connections with the political parties," said Jayaraman. Sterlite Copper has defended its stance, tweeting in April about its role in creating jobs and boosting the economy. On its website, Sterlite writes that it has "woven social responsibility into its business fabric right from its inception" in 1996. As a company, Sterlite says it "believes that business objectives should include overall development of communities around its surrounding areas" with the aim to "provide the necessary stimulus to not only address these issues but ensure social involvement, acceptability and sustainability." Attempts to reach Sterlite on Wednesday were unsuccessful.</s>Congress president Rahul Gandhi today termed the deaths of nine people in police firing during protests against the Sterlite copper plant in Tamil Nadu a “brutal example of state sponsored terrorism”. He said people were murdered in Tuticorin for protesting against injustice. “The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the Sterlite protest in Tamil Nadu is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured,” Gandhi said on Twitter.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said nine people were killed in police action at Tuticorin and ordered a judicial inquiry into the police action.

The police action followed months-long protests for the closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite copper unit in Tuticorin, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai, over pollution concerns. The agitation turned violent today, with protesters fighting pitched battles with police, prompting it to open fire. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town.</s>New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the deaths of nine people in police firing during protests against the Sterlite copper plant in Tamil Nadu a "brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism". He also said people were murdered in Tuticorin for protesting against injustice.

"The gunning down by the police of nine people in the Sterlite protest in Tamil Nadu is a brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured," Rahul said on Twitter.

Nine people were killed in police firing after protests for the closure of Vedanta group's Sterlite Copper plant over pollution concerns turned violent in Tuticorin. Chief Minister K Palaniswami confirmed reports about the death of nine people in "police action". He announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of the deceased and ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence. The CM also said in a statement that the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate in defiance of the prohibitory orders clamped in the specific area in Tuticorin.

The protests were going on in Tuticorin for over three months now, but violence erupted on Tuesday with agitators allegedly fighting pitched battles with police, prompting it to open fire. Hurling stones and setting government vehicles and public property on fire, the agitators went on the rampage in the town, about 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai.

Police said nearly 5000 protesters gathered near a local church and insisted on taking out a rally to the district collectorate after they were denied permission to march to the copper smelter plant. Initial pushing and shoving soon led to violent clashes, after agitated locals began hurling stones at police and overturned a vehicle. Security personnel used batons and burst teargas shells to break up the protest, PTI reported.

Many were injured in stone-pelting by the agitators, who also set some vehicles on fire. Windscreens of some government cars were smashed and bank premises were attacked by the rampaging mobs. As the violence spiralled, police opened fire, killing nine people.

DMK working president and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, slammed the "inhumane" firing on protestors. In a statement, he demanded an inquiry by a sitting high court judge, besides a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each of those killed. The government committed a "Himalayan blunder" by handling the protest with "guns and teargas shells," he said, adding at least a minister accompanied by the district collector should have spoken to the agitators. Stalin called for the removal of state police chief TK Rajendiran.

MDMK founder Vaiko likened the incident to the British era Jallianwala Bagh massacre, while the CPI(M)'s state unit demanded the chief minister's resignation.

Opposition parties including PMK, DMDK, Congress, and the MNM slammed the violence and police action, while actor Rajinikanth, who is slated to launch his political party, held the government responsible for the deaths.

Stalin and MNM founder Kamal Haasan demanded permanent closure of the plant.</s>The demonstrations by local residents and activists have been underway for several months at the Sterlite Copper smelting plant in the port city of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu state.

Protesters have accused the plant, owned by London-based mining giant Vedanta Resources, of polluting groundwater and causing damage to the environment. Vedanta says it adheres to environmental standards and is the subject of "false propaganda," news agency AFP reported.

The demonstration escalated after protesters stormed and torched the office of a local administrator who had refused to allow them to hold a rally at the plant, said AFP.

Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Indian National Congress party, said the protesters were "gunned down by the police," before criticizing the police action as "state sponsored terrorism" on his Twitter account.

A police officer told AFP that attempts by security forces to disperse the 5,000-strong crowd with baton charges and tear gas were to no avail before they opened fire with live ammunition. Following the incident, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu chief minister, ordered an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the shooting but stood by the security force's actions. "The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence... police had to control the violence," he said in a statement reported by AFP.</s>Sterlite protest in Tuticorin: Nine people were killed in port city of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday after a crowd close to 20,000 started protesting against Vedanta group’s Sterlite Copper plant citing pollution concerns and demanded immediate closure of it. Police resorted to firing after a strong crowd started marching to the district collectorate in Tuticorin demanding scrapping of proposed expansion of the copper smelter of Sterlite Copper. While Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has ordered a probe into the incident even as state Governor Banwarilal Purohit condoled the deaths.

Palaniswami said that the protesters took out a procession towards the collectorate defying the prohibitory orders clamped in the specific area in Tuticorin, 600 km from Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. Reports say protesters hurled stones and set government vehicles and public property on fire. The tragic incidents had evoked sharp reactions from parties, including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Here are top highlights and latest developments

The trouble began on Tuesday morning when over 15,000 people started their march towards the collectorate and entered its premises. Police was forced to open fire to deter the prortesters unless the district headquarters would have been ransacked, a Tamil Nadu Police official was quoted as saying by the Indian Expreess. Reports say that police fired again in the evening disperse the crowd. CM Palaniswami confirmed that the nine people lost lives in “police action” even as DGP T K Rajendran chose not to divulge too much on the issue. The state government had announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of the deceased.

On Wednesday morning, security has been tightened and shops were seen closed, as per ANI report. Section 144 has been imposed in the city to prevent any untoward incident.

What is the protest all about?

The protest against this Sterlite Copper plant is a prolonged one. Sporadic protests have been going on since 1999. Residents demanding the closure of the Sterlite copper smelter. A petition was also filed in the adurai bench of the Madras High Court seeking closure of the plant. The judgement is awaited as the court had finished the hearing on May 17. Yesterday was the 100th day of recent protest. Protesters raised concern over the pollution belching out of the copper plant, including issues relating to disposal of copper waste and effluents from the operational unit, demanding its permanent closure.

The unit is said to be one of the country’s biggest copper smelters . Vedanta Ltd — a majority-owned subsidiary of London-listed Vedanta Resources. The plant was commissioned in 1997. However, it made headlines in 2013 headline when a gas leak took place leading to death of one person and inflicting injuries on several others. Following a gas leak in March 2013, the then chief minister the late J Jayalalithaa, 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 was still pending there, it added. The plant has been shut since March 27 this year, with the company citing the closure as a part of 15-day maintenance. Incidentally, the company had consent to operate the plant until March 31 this year.

In an official statement, the government said the plant was in operation in Meelavitan in Tuticorin for the past 20 years. It said the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had earlier this year rejected Sterlite’s application seeking renewal of consent to operate the plant over non-fulfilment of green norms, including those related to disposal of copper waste and effluents. The company later moved the Appellate Authority and the next hearing is slated for June 6, it said.

A political slugfest has erupted over the issue. DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, has termed the Poilce action as the “inhumane”. He said that the state government committed a “Himalayan blunder” by handling the protest with “guns and teargas shells and demananed an inquiry by a sitting high court judge abd a compensation of Rs 1 crore. Stalin also sought the removal of state police chief TK Rajendiran. Stalin, who was to attend the swearing-in ceremony of JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister tomorrow, said he has cancelled his Bengaluru visit, and would head for Tuticorin to take stock of the situation. MDMK founder Vaiko likened the incident to the British era Jallianwala Bagh massacre, while the CPI(M)’s state unit demanded the chief minister’s resignation. Opposition parties including PMK, DMDK, Congress, and the MNM slammed the violence and police action. Superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have condemned the government’s action.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has lashed out at the Tamil Nadu government over the incident. “The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the #SterliteProtest in Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured,” Gandhi said in a tweet.

“I just landed in Bengaluru to the shocking news about the incident near the Sterlite Tuticorin plant. My thoughts and prayers with the people of Tamil Nadu at this hour of grief. My deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and hope the injured recover soon,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a tweet.</s>At least ten people died and over 50 were injured on Tuesday as police opened fire on thousands protesting against the Sterlite copper smelting plant in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu.

The Sterlite protests, which entered its 100th day took an ugly turn when protestors marched to the Thoothukudi district collectorate, despite the imposition of section 144.

Here is a quick recap of all you need to know about the Sterlite copper smelting plant and the protests:

Sterlite was the first company set up by UK-based Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal in India before he launched Vedanta Resources on the LSE in 2003, where it is now a multinational with operations across India and Africa.

In Thoothukudi, Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper unit set up a copper smelting plant, one of India's biggest, in 1996.

Why are thousands protesting against the Sterlite copper smelting plant in Thoothukudi?

Two major reasons why the locals are demanding for the closure of the Sterlite plant are pollution and rise in health problems among people residing in villages close to the plant.

A Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board affidavit says respiratory diseases were observed to be prevailing more in communities surrounding the unit than the State’s average, according to an expert report.

The document also talks about rusty-red water flowing from taps owing to the suspected increase in the iron content in groundwater.

Women in the villages surrounding the unit have inexplicably high incidence of menstrual disorders, like menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea.

There was also fear of arsenic laced wastewater from Sterlite plant reportedly flooding Silverpuram, Meelavittan and Kaluthaikuttan tanks.

The TNPCB also very recently said for the past five years, the Sterlite plant has been disposing of thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste without authorisation.

How big is the Sterlite Protest?

In a massive movement similar to the 2017 'Jallikattu Protest', thousands of people in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi are unanimously protesting on the streets, demanding the closure of the Sterlite Plant since March, this year.

The major protests broke out after villagers petitioned the district collector several times seeking closure of the unit, but no action had been taken, reported PTI.

In February, after top district officials led by Sub-Collector MS Prasanth failed to reach an understanding, around 250 people who went on an indefinite fast protesting against the Sterlite Copper plant and its proposed expansion, were arrested.

The Sterlite Protest in fact has reached as far as London, with a large number of British Tamils carrying traditional 'parai' drums holding a protest outside the home of Vedanta Group chief Anil Agarwal there on March 29.

Vedanta is embroiled in controversies overseas as well. Its subsidiary Konkola Copper mines has been sued in English courts by Zambian villagers for polluting their water and destroying their livelihood through their mining operations.

What is Vedanta Sterlite saying?

The company has always strongly denied the charges of pollution against it. A Vedanta group release says "Zero discharge systems, utilisation of waste for sustainable applications, energy efficient systems and stringent emission monitoring are the hallmark of Sterlite."

Sterlite has been in a constant tussle with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board over allegations of causing environmental damage.

Recently, the TNPCB issued an order turning down Sterlite’s application to renew its Consent to Operate, saying it continued to generate and dispose of hazardous waste without valid authorisation.

However, senior counsel PS Raman appearing for Sterlite alleged that the pollution board acted based on newspaper reports and public outcry, rather than relying upon scientific material available.

“There is not a single piece of paper available till date, which suggests Sterlite has caused ambient air and water pollution. We have achieved zero liquid discharge and there is no substantial evidence to prove some of the health problems faced by local communities was because of Sterlite, considering there are several red category industries in the industrial cluster,” Raman said.</s>Indian police on Tuesday killed 12 demonstrators after opening fire on thousands of people demanding the closure of a copper factory due to pollution concerns, a police officer said.

Protesters rampaged for hours in the southern state of Tamil Nadu calling for the closure of the plant owned by British-based mining giant Vedanta Resources.

“We have confirmation of 12 people being killed in police firing. We fear the toll may rise,” the officer told AFP from the state capital Chennai.

An unknown number of protesters were injured in the skirmishes, he said.

Some 20 police were also injured in the clashes in Tuticorin, about 600 kilometres (375 miles) south of Chennai.

The shootings caused immediate outrage. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress party, said it was “state sponsored terrorism”.

Protesters stormed the office of the top local administrator and set it ablaze after they were denied permission to hold a rally at the smelting plant.

The police officer said efforts to disperse the 5,000 strong rock-throwing group through a baton charge and tear gas volleys failed. Police then fired live ammunition, he added.

Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami ordered an inquiry into the shootings but defended the police.

“The police had to take action under unavoidable circumstances to protect public life and property as the protesters resorted to repeated violence… police had to control the violence,” he said in a statement.

The families of each victim would be offered one million rupees ($14,700) compensation, he added.

Residents have been protesting for months against the plant run by a Vedanta subsidiary, Sterlite Copper.

Environmentalists and locals allege the plant is contaminating water resources, a charge denied by the company.

The protests have intensified after Vedanta, owned by an Indian billionaire but with its head office in London, sought to expand the plant.

The plant — which is currently non-operational — has a 400,000-tonne annual capacity.

It was shut briefly after an alleged gas leak in March 2013 that left hundreds with breathing difficulties, nausea and throat infections.

India’s federal green court allowed it to be reopened.

The company maintains that it adheres to environmental standards and accused vested interests of spreading “false propaganda” about its operations.

Tamil Nadu is one of India’s most industrialised and prosperous states and similar protests over environmental concerns have turned deadly.

Tuticorin witnessed violent demonstrations in 2012 over a nuclear power plant in neighbouring Kudankulam district that left one person dead.

Thousands of protesters blocked roads to prevent supplies reaching the Russian-built plant, concerned about safety standards. One of the plant units is operational.

In 2016, the Indian arm of global consumer goods giant Unilever settled a 15-year-old suit with hundreds of its former employees over mercury contamination at a thermometer factory in Kodaikanal.

The factory was shut in 2001 after it was found to have disposed mercury waste with following proper protocol.
Police in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India, kill nine people who protested against Vedanta Resources' copper smelter operation, alleging that it is a major source of pollution and a risk to fisheries. State Minister D. Jayakumar says that it was "unavoidable" that the people were shot. National Congress opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls the killings "state sponsored terrorism".