Demanding the permanent closure of Murugappa Group’s Coromandel International Limited (CIL) fertiliser plant in Tamil Nadu, residents of Ennore organised a human chain protest at Elliot’s Beach in Chennai’s Besant Nagar on Sunday, March 3. As many as 300 people joined the protest in solidarity. The protests against CIL began on December 27, 2023, after 67.638 metric tonnes of ammonia gas leaked from CIL’s pipelines in the sea, affecting 33 villages located around the fertiliser manufacturing plant in just 15 minutes.
Although several protests were outside CIL’s gates near Periyakuppam village by 33 villages, the protestors moved to South Chennai’s Elliot’s beach on the 68th day of protest on Sunday.
Bhagat Singh, a resident of Ennore and a representative of People’s Protection Group in Ennore, said, “We have been protesting in Ennore which is in the Northern tip of the city and we felt that our protests need to be heard by the people residing in the south. We want the people of Chennai to understand that we are not only protesting for the lives of people living in North Chennai but for all of Chennai since any mishap that causes a leak from the 12,000 metric tonne ammonia tank in CIL’s factory, is dangerous for the entire city.”
Bhagat also highlighted the Supreme Court’s verdict on February 29 that denied Vedanta Group from reopening the Copper Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi by mentioning the negligence of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) in discharging its duties. “The gas leak is also a similar issue where CIL has failed to abide by the rules of the government and TNPCB failed to ensure the plant’s compliance with the law. Why is CIL not being shut down?,” he added.
Subhashini, a resident from Kattukuppam, told TNM, “It took the residents of Thoothukudi to protest for 100 days before they shut down the sterlite plant. We are hoping that we won't have to protest for another month before the state turns their attention to us.”
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Around 150 residents from Ennore, mainly children and youngsters travelled from Ennore in four vans to Elliot’s beach for the protest. Their travel was organised by multiple groups that work for the welfare of the people in North Chennai including People’s Protection Group, Chennai Climate Action group, Vyasai Thozhargal, Ennore Singaravelar Padipagam. Other groups from Tamil Nadu such as the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Association and Tamil Nadu Science Forum also took part in the protest. Volunteers and students from these groups also participated.
A suo-motu case against CIL was registered by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), and two hearings have been held. The third hearing would be held on Tuesday, March 5.
Read: Ennore gas leak victims say hospital discharged them even as they struggled to breathe