Social activists and scribes are alleging arm twisting tactics by the government ahead of a public hearing for establishment of a chemical factory at Malgi village of Nyalkal Mandal in Sangareddy district.
A social activist who has been campaigning in the village against the industry and a local journalist reportedly received calls from the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Zaheerabad. A call to the DySP for this report went unanswered.
Y. Ashok Kumar, a retired head master and district convener of the Telangana People’s Joint Action Committee, alleged that the DySP had spoken in a threatening tone. “We visited the village a few times, distributed pamphlets and tried to educate the village youth who in turn started speaking to others about the carcinogenic effects of formaldehyde, the main product from the unit,” Mr. Ashok Kumar said when contacted by The Hindu.
In response, representatives of the proposed unit, with support of the Sarpanch, organised another meeting and reportedly told the villagers that the product was not formaldehyde, but only a few resins. People did not buy this, and opposed the proposed factory.
In the meantime, at another public hearing in Mominpet of Vikarabad district residents and political leaders unanimously opposed the establishment of an ethanol factory, forcing the company management to announce their withdrawal. This failure, Mr. Ashok Kumar says, might have created fears in officials that the Malgi proposal too might go the same way.
