The Village Action Council at Kumbanad-Kadapra took out a march and dharna in front of the Koipram panchayat office at Kumbanad on Friday, protesting against the local body’s move to issue licence for a controversial bitumen-mixing plant in a populated area adjoining the Chellathuparambil Scheduled Caste colony at Kumbanad-Kadapra.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) State committee member K. Ananthagopan inaugurated the dharna and K.M. Thomas, academic and environmentalist, delivered the keynote address. Seven panchayat members also took part in the dharna.
The action council has been demanding the shifting of the plant from the thickly populated area for the past four years.
Action council chairperson and panchayat member Jessie Sajan demanded that the controversial plant be relocated to an uninhibited area.
Ms. Sajan said one person had died in March due to asphyxia caused by the fumes from the bitumen-mixing plant and many others were hospitalised two years ago.
She has been elected to the panchayat as an independent member from the ward that houses the plant, defeating both the UDF and the LDF candidates.
She said the plant, before it was closed following public protest, had been causing breathing difficulties and allergy problems to local residents.
