Villagers close to Sterlite recount their tales

Sitting under a huge tamarind tree, Vellathai and Sundari (name changed) keep a hawk's eye on who enters their tiny village.

As a car stops at a vacant land near the tree in A Kumarettiyapuram village, the duo come towards the vehicle suspicious of the identity of those inside.

Once Vellathai and Sundari are convinced that the visitor is indeed a journalist and was referred to meet them by a well-known trader in nearby Thoothukudi, their grim faces sport a broad smile suddenly.

This tiny village was the first to erupt in anger in February after the now-closed Sterlite Copper began working on expansion of its smelter.

If the expansion plan had taken place, the compound walls would have ended up close to their houses.

"We are being constantly monitored by police and those close to Sterlite. We live in a perpetual sense of fear though more than 45 days have passed since the bloody protests in May. Can’t we lead a peaceful life? Why is that we are being hounded for peacefully protesting against a polluting industry," Sundari asked.

Allegations of Sterlite spying on the villagers could not be verified since efforts to reach the spokesman of the Vedanta-owned group proved futile.

As the conversation progresses, Sundari called a few more women from the village to come and share their tales.

"People from A Kumarettiyapuram did not participate in the May 22 protest as all of us were stopped in the nearby villages and bundled into various buses to other places in the city. Why lock for our men when none could participate in the agitation," Sudha, another resident, asked.

Villagers claim that their woes seem to be unending since men in their tiny hamlet are forced to live in a sense of fear.

"Most men come home after midnight and leave immediately after the sun is up. All are in fear after police took away four men in the village and lodged them in Palayamkottai prison," Shanmugavadivu, whose family members have left the village, told DH.

The women said men, especially those awaiting jobs in the government sector are scared to return to the village, for the fear of being taken away by the police.

Most families that had left the village after May 22 protests and are slowly returning to their hamlet.

"Every person who enters the village is monitored and that includes you as well. We women are not scared of anyone, but please don’t click pictures of any of our youth or men and publish. We are not even allowed to breathe fresh air peacefully," Vellathai told this correspondent.

"Already, 13 lives have been lost. How many more we need to sacrifice," Sellathai, another resident, asked.

"I returned to my village after more than a month. Why should I live away when I have all my relatives here? Women are fearless since no woman has so far been booked by police for the protest. But, we men live in fear and our women are our saviours now," a 23-year-old, who is awaiting government job, told DH.

Sources in the district administration and police, however, deny the allegations that the men in khaki still look out for men who had reportedly indulged in violence.

But, villagers of A Kumarettiyapuram say they are ready to sacrifice their lives if the government wants more bloodshed.

But, the opinion seems to be divided in nearby south Veerapandiapuram – where some of the residents demand re-opening of the plant.