Chennai: In a show of solidarity, a large number of people from Thoothukudi took out a rally and submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami seeking to reopen the Sterlite Copper Plant and obey the Supreme Court order..
They also presented 1,60,000 support letters to the Chief Minister requesting the plant be reopened.
People have highlighted that the closure of the plant was adversely affected the livelihood of over 45,000 families and a number of businesses were affected as a result of the ban.
Representatives of all segments affected by Sterlite Copper’s closure assembled at Chepauk on Wednesday. The people included representatives from villages of Thoothukudi including those from Milavittan, Pandarampatti, 1herku Veerapandipuram and Kumareddiapuram, employees and contract employees, lorry drivers' association, suppliers' associations, small business owners, Sterlite Copper's CSR beneficiaries, farmers and labourers.
Ponraj, former panchayat president, said as a result of the closure, they lost their job and currently struggling to make ends meet. They hope the government would reopen the plant for their livelihood.
