Over 100 villagers and members of a farmers’ association staged a protest for over 10 hours on the premises of the Tiruppur Collectorate on Monday condemning the setting up of a private steel melting plant in Vadugapalayam near Dharapuram.
According to the police, around 150 residents of villages around Vadugapalayam accompanied by members of Tamilaga Vivasayigal Pathukappu Sangam, a farmers’ association, squatted on the Collectorate premises at around 10 a.m. They alleged that the steel melting plant would lead to degradation of farmlands in the villages.
The association’s founder M. Easan told mediapersons that the residents of villages such as Sankarandampalayam, Surianallur and Sirukinar in Kundadam Block had petitioned officials from the Revenue Department multiple times in the past regarding the issue.
He accused the officials of not furnishing to villagers the copies of documents issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the Agriculture Department approving the plant’s construction.
Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Ravi and Revenue Department officials held talks with the protesters late in the evening.
The protesters agreed to disperse after the officials assured them that the copies of the documents would be provided, the police said.
