Chennai, May 6(BPNS)

The controversial Sterilite plant in Tuticorin which was closed down due to massive public protests will be opened for generation of Oxygen. The Tuticorin district collector, K Senthil Raj had conducted an inspection of the plant along with six other members of the monitoring committee appointed by the Tamil Nadu state government on directive from the Supreme court of India.

The Sterlite Oxygen plant has a daily Oxygen production capacity of 1050 tonnes .The plant has been shut down since May 22, 2018 after the anti Sterilite protests turned violent and 14 people lost their lives in police firing.

It may be noted that South Indian movie star Vijay Sethupathi, Former Judge of Madras High Court, Justice D Hariparanthaman and former Vice Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, V Vasanthi Devi met the Chief minister elect, MK Stalin on Wednesday and urged him not to reopen the Sterlite plant in Tuticorin.

Environmental activists across Tamil Nadu have been protesting against the Sterlite copper plant and several environmentalists have alleged that opening of the plant under the guise of Oxygen supply would lead to a backdoor entry for the Copper smelter plant.