Vedanta’s aggressions against Dongaria Kondh, Dalit and other communities in Orissa, aren’t the only examples of the UK company’s unlawful behaviour, now confirmed by India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Manifold indictments of the company’s environmental pollution and illicit expansion at its Tuticorin copper smelter in Tamil Nadu date back further than allegations surrounding Vedanta’s operations in Lanjigarh and the Nymagiri hills.
Nityanand Jayaraman is a Chennai-based activist, working with communities fighting the pollution and human rights abuses of Sterlite Industries (majority controlled by Vedanta). He informs us that, just over a week ago,week, members of the “Thoothukudi Anti-Sterlite Struggle Committee” staged a road blockade, demanding the closure of the smelter, in view of various violations that have come light.
See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10345.