Tension prevailed in Sitamamapalem Village, 50 km from here, as villagers clashed with the policemen deployed for public hearing on setting up calcined petroleum coke plant in Ramabili Mandal of Sithammapalem in the district.
Trouble began when the villagers tried to disrupt a public hearing get up to hear them on their views about the plant. In the melee, the protesters damaged two police vehicles while police used batons to control them. The villagers, under the banner of the Movement for People Centred Development (MPCD), are opposing the establishment of a 4.60 lakh tonne capacity plant with a 25 MW power plant at Chaatamett on the grounds of environmental pollution. While protesters alleged the plant would damage environment and derail the livelihood of local communities,Hyderabad-based Sanvira Industries, which was setting up the plant,claimed the project would not damage the environment as the coke would only be densified and not burnt. UNI