Tamil Nadu taking steps to close Sterlite factory: CM
Chennai, May 24: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami said on Thursday that his government was taking all steps to close the Sterlite factory at Thoothukudi after 13 people were killed in protests against it.
Palaniswami told the media that the AIADMK government was taking the legal route to ensure that the Sterlite Copper Smelter plant was shut down.
He said people in the region had been protesting peacefully for long against the company, alleging that it was causing health hazards and depleting the water table, but this time the opposition and "anti-social elements" had turned the movement violent.
"It is because of this instigation that so many people have died. And we are really saddened by the deaths," he said.
He added that in April Sterlite approached the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to continue running the factory but the permission was denied.
But the management got a favourable order from the National Green Tribunal. The Tamil Nadu government had moved the Supreme Court against the NGT ruling.
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PWD, Google Maps officials booked in Bareilly bridge death case
Budaun (UP), Nov 25: Police here have booked officials of the Public Works Department and Google Maps in connection with the death of three men whose car rolled over an under-construction bridge while following directions on the navigation app, an officer on Monday said.
The car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge in Dataganj Police Station area early Sunday.
Nitin and Ajit, aged 30, both brothers from Farrukhabad district, and Amit, 40, from Mainpuri district, were on their way from Noida to Faridpur in Bareilly to attend a wedding.
According to police, the driver was led by Google Maps into taking the unsafe route.
The incident took place on the Bareilly-Budaun border.
Dataganj Police Station SHO Gaurav Bishnoi said an FIR on charges of laxity in duty and others was filed against four engineers of the PWD, along with some unknown people.
The regional officer of Google Map has also been brought under the scope of investigation. His name is yet to be included in the FIR.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of Google in a statement said, "Our deepest sympathies go out to the families. We're working closely with the authorities and providing our support to investigate the issue."
On Sunday, Faridpur Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said, "Earlier this year, floods caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse onto the river, but this change had not been updated in the system."
He said the bridge had no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach.
