Cuddalore, 25 January 2007: Chitrapettai villagers today chased out Chemplast officials who were visiting the village to inspect the site for the Marine Terminal Facility (MTF) for their PVC plant. The residents of Chitrapettai thus made it clear for Chemplast, that they were unwelcome in their backyard. The incident occurred in the morning when about 5 cars full of officials from Chemplast Sanmar entered the village to survey the MTF area. The villagers immediately got together and questioned the visitors and after discovering that they were from Chemplast, asked them to leave immediately. Within ten minutes of the confrontation, the Chemplast officials scurried.
Today’s incident highlights the resistance of the villagers who are opposed to the proposed Chemplast PVC plant. The fisher folk have not even been consulted about locating the facility in their village or informed about the possible impacts of the proposed plant on their environment and livelihood. Even the government has ignored and sidetracked their frequent opposition to the proposed unit. Villagers fear that the company will try to come back to the village with the support of the government and police.