Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 22 (ANI): While marking the 7th anniversary of the Anti-Sterlite Protest, at an event organised by the members of the Anti-Sterlite Thoothukudi District People's Federation on Thursday, residents from across the city of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu gathered to pay tribute to the fifteen individuals killed during the 2018 Anti-Sterlite Copper Plant protests.

Many residents, including women, were seen offering floral tributes to the portraits of the victims of the police firing at a local church.

In a shocking and tragic incident that occurred on May 22nd, 2018, 13 people were killed and more than 60 were injured in the alleged police firing during the violent protest against the Sterlite Copper Plant in Thoothukudi.

On the day of the shooting incident, 13 people died in the firing, and two people were arrested by the police, who later died in police custody.

Reportedly, the local residents were protesting against the construction of the Sterlite Copper Plant, claiming that it was severely polluting groundwater and was hazardous to the environment.

Taking note of the people's demand, the Tamil Nadu government had ordered the closure of the plant.

In February 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by the Vedanta group for the reopening of its Sterlite copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi. A bench of then Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra dismissed the appeal of Vedanta Limited, citing 'repeated breaches' and 'serious violations' on its part.

Vedanta had approached the apex court against the August 2020 Madras High Court order dismissing a batch of pleas by the company against the closure of its copper plant in Thoothukudi and other consequential orders passed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). (ANI)