Ministry suspends work on Srikakulam project

A day after two villagers were killed in police firing during a protest against a private power plant in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, the Union Environment Ministry has ordered suspension of construction work on the project. The protesters, mostly local farmers and fishermen, are opposing the East Coast Energy project on the grounds of ecological damage to wetlands and the loss of their livelihoods.

A similar incident took place in July 2010 in police firing during a protest against another private power plant – Nagarjuna Constructions – in the same district; two persons died in the incident.