Women, children block road against proposed sewage treatment plant in Kerala

We cannot let a sewage treatment plant come up in this populated area.

Local residents, including women and children, squatted on the road and blocked traffic as part of an agitation against the proposed sewage treatment plant at Kothi, a thickly populated area, in this northern district on Thursday.

The agitation intensified after the Municipal Corporation resumed its work to construct a compound wall for the proposed plant.

Several protesters were arrested and removed from the spot forcefully by the police after they tried to stop the Corporation officials and workers who reached the site in connection with the construction.

An elderly man, who was taking part in the protest, collapsed on the road after suffering some uneasiness and police later shifted him from the area.

Tension prevailed in the place after the police tried to remove by force the protesters including women, who blocked the road to the project site and raised slogans.

The agitators alleged that the police used force even against a child who took part in the protest along with his mother.

A woman protester said they would not backtrack from this protest at any cost.

''We have young children. We cannot let a sewage treatment plant come up in this populated area. If it comes, we cannot sell our property. Our daughters will not get good marriage alliances. We will continue the fight even if we lose our lives,'' she said.

Kothi has been witnessing protests under the aegis of a people's collective for some time saying that the plant would cause severe environmental impact in the area, a charge which was denied by the Corporation authorities.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)