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Goa peaceful, Meta Strips dispute blows over

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

Peace has been fully been restored in Goa with Meta Strips Limited officials stopping all work at the factory and the demonstrators agreeing to withdraw the 13-day hunger strike.

The peaceful tourist state had become tense since last week with villagers demanding scrapping of the plant, alleging that it was environment-unfriendly. They resorted to agitation, which later turned violent as they stoned and burnt state-owned public transport.

After initial reluctance, the Anti Meta Strips Action Committee, or AMSAC, and Chief Minister Francisco Sardinha finally sat down across the table to resolve the issue amicably.

As a first step towards restoring normalcy, the government agreed to seal the factory gates, while stopping the ongoing construction and production work 'until further orders'.

"The war is, however, not yet over. This is just a first step towards fulfilling the goal of scrapping of the project," said Nelson Fernandes, the AMSAC secretary.

The demonstrators are yet to react to Sardinha's proposal to constitute an experts committee to probe into the pollution angle of the factory that manufactures brass strips and foils.

The committee would be headed by a retired judge, and include a few experts of appointed by the government, representatives of the AMSAC and company officials. The Rs 2.50-billion project, set up with a Spanish collaboration, is owned by Sushil Khaitan, son-in-law of Sitaram Jindal of the Jindal Group of Industries. "We are open for any kind of probe into the pollution angle," says A V Parekh, president of the Meta Strips.

Goa controversy escalates

Business