Chennai: At last, after a long legal battle and obtaining all necessary clearances, Sterlite in the southern Thoothukudi is expected to produce oxygen from 15 May.
The Tamilnadu government conveyed this during a hearing at the Madras High Court on Monday. Officials said that the company will initially supply 35 MT of liquid oxygen.
“Apart from this, the plant also has the capacity to fill another 3,000 cylinders (30MT) of gaseous oxygen per day. The cylinders required are being coordinated by SIPCOT,” officials added. Sterlite has assured to increase the production to 100 MT within two weeks time.
Tuticorin District Collector, K Senthil Raj conducted an inspection of the plant along with six other members of the monitoring committee appointed by the Tamilnadu government on the directive from the Supreme Court.
How will this oxygen be helpful:
The oxygen from Sterlite will be helpful to the hospitals in seven to eight districts of Tamilnadu, it is said.
Officials said that this will help to overcome the logistics hurdles of transporting liquid oxygen from other parts of the State.
“Though adequate medical oxygen is available. it is a challenge to transport it from the place of production to the requirement area. This issue can be solved now,” officials added.
The State government had ensured the company was provided timely support in making the plant operational at the earliest, they stated.
Local opposition:
Environmental activists across Tamilnadu have been protesting against the Sterlite copper plant and many have alleged that opening of the plant under the guise of oxygen supply would lead to its backdoor entry. Activists have requested the Tamilnadu government to ensured that the plant is not used for anyother purpose other than producing oxygen. The plant was shut down since 22 May 2018 after the anti-Sterlite protests turned violent and 14 people lost their lives in police firing.
The path so far:
Vedanta Limited had moved the Supreme Court in April requesting an emergency hearing citing that it could produce 1,000 tonnes of oxygen if the Sterlite plant was allowed to reopen. On the court’s suggestion, the Tamilnadu government, which was initially against the idea, held a public hearing in Thoothukudi, where most stakeholders opposed the proposal alleging that it was a strategy by Vedanta to reopen the entire plant. Following this an all party meeting was held during which it was agreed to reopen the plant for oxygen production.
Permission was granted for the plant to operate for four months under the monitoring of State and district administrations. The Tamilnadu government also said that the State’s requirement would be prioritised before supplying oxygen to other states.