About 20 activists who marched into the Coca Cola factory at Plachimada in Kerala on Saturday to confiscate the company’s property in the name of the people were arrested by the police.
The factory which poisoned land and water in the area was closed down following prolonged agitation by the people, which attracted worldwide attention.
The Kerala Assembly has passed a bill providing for the setting up of a tribunal to determine the compensation payable to victims of the pollution. The bill is awaiting the signature of the President.
The symbolic confiscation of the company's property was part of an attempt to impress upon the Centre and the State government the need to implement the law. “We are demanding proper compensation for the people of Plachimada from Coca Cola and it is the people’s natural right,” a spokesman for the group which staged the protest action said.
He added that most of the arrested persons would remain in jail and not seek bail.
No comments:
Post a Comment