Thousands of people gathered in front of the Thoothukudi Collectorate arch gate on Monday, calling for the reopening of Sterlite Copper plant, which was shut down by the Tamil Nadu government in May 2018.

The Sterlite Copper smelter in Thoothukudi has remained closed for the past seven years following police firing on 12 people during the anti-Sterlite protest in May 2018. Since then, residents of neighbouring villages and several organisations are continuously submitting petitions at the Cllectorate, urging the government to reopen the plant.

In line with the efforts, thousands of people from nearby villages including Tsunami Nagar, Saminatham, Pandarampatti and Sankaraperi, and representatives from various organisations including women self-help Ggoups, lorry owners associations, auto rickshaw drivers and contract workers union began assembling outside the collectorate from at 8 a.m. to submit their petitions.

The petitioners highlighted the proposal for Green Copper production at the smelter. They said they were encouraged by media reports about a scientific expert panel’s recommendation to restart the plant in an environmentally sustainable manner. They urged the Tamil Nadu government to accept the recommendations and take necessary actions to reopen the plant.

A petition submitted by Tsunami Nagar residents pointed out that around 150 individuals from their area were working in the plant. However, after its closure, they were forced to seek jobs elsewhere and struggled to support their families and provide proper education to their children. The residents urged the government to issue a special order, allowing the plant to reopen.

“To protect people’s livelihood and provide employment, the Sterile plant must be reopened. We will vote only for the party that supports reopening the satellite,” were the slogans raised by the petitioners.

Due to the large crowd, the Thoothukudi District police personnel were deployed. The public was stopped outside the Collectorate premises and only 10 people were allowed inside to meet the Collector and submit the petitions.