Ferozepur, December 2
Notwithstanding the High Court orders imposing a Rs 20-crore penalty on the state government for its lackadaisical approach in dealing with the protesters sitting outside the ethanol unit in Zira since July 26 forcing its closure, the protesters are seemingly in no mood to relent and are adamant on continuing their dharna till the plant in Mansurwala village is shut down.
Sitting on a dharna for 131 days, the protesters have accused the plant of contaminating the underground water by discharging chemical effluents which, they believe, is harming their health. Even the green chit by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had collected samples from the site, has failed to dispel their concerns.
All efforts to convince them to relocate the protest site or sit on the table for a dialogue have turned futile as they are not ready to accept anything less than the closure of the unit on which an amount of Rs 300 crore has been spent by the Malbros company, reportedly owned by a former SAD MLA.
Gurmail Singh, village sarpanch, said, “Till the time we get information regarding the permanent closure of this plant, we are not going to give in to any pressure.”
