Residents of Neduvasal and its surrounding villages who had been sustaining their protest against the hydrocarbon project for over 170 days temporarily called off their agitation on Monday.
The stir was called off after the advisory panel of the struggle group took a decision in this regard. The villagers had been vociferous in their protest against the hydrocarbon extraction project on the grounds it would severely affect farming and their livelihood eventually.
They not only demanded that the Centre cancel the agreement for the project but also close the exploratory wells sunk by the Oil and Natural Gas Commission around Neduvasal. They also sought restoration of the land taken on lease for the wells to the respective owners.
S.V. Kamarasu, a member of the advisory panel hailing from Karambakadu village near Neduvasal, said the ongoing agitation was temporarily called off to enable villagers concentrate on agriculture-related work and farming operations. The future course of action would be decided by the advisory panel later, he added The protesters suspended their stir in early March only to resume the agitation the following month. Even as the stir was under way, a fire broke out in a cement tank containing effluents adjoining an ONGC exploratory well at Nallandarkoil village near Neduvasal last month, causing panic among villagers.
