Chennai : The 3 month long protest against the Vedanta owned Sterlite industries’ Copper Smelting plant in Tamilnadu’s Thootulodi today make a violent turn as police fired at the agitators killing at least 10 people. As per local media reports, as many as 20 thousand people today gathered at the Collectors Office protesting against the state government’s decision to grant an extension to the Company. Despite Section 144 clamped in the area they entered the campus and vandalised the office properties forcing the police to open fire.
Sterlite’s Copper plant that can produce 4 lakh tonnes of Copper, has been closed by the State Poution Control Board for the last 50 days owing to violation of pollution norms. The local people are demanding to close down the plant permanently.