A violent mob on Saturday set ablaze the manufacturing unit of AVH Company in Halkarni, MIDC, Chandgad, in Kolhapur district, torched the company's residential facilities and damaged three police vehicles during an eight-hour long protest.
A violent mob on Saturday set ablaze the manufacturing unit of AVH Company in Halkarni, MIDC, Chandgad, in Kolhapur district, torched the company's residential facilities and damaged three police vehicles during an eight-hour long protest.
Local residents have been fighting the plant for the last three years on environmental concerns.
AVH Chemicals has its coal-tar distillation plant at Halkarni, around 110 km from Kolhapur city.
The protesters were led by Dr Nadatai Babhulkar of AVH Hatao Janandolan Kriti Samiti.
Babhulkar said that the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had given permission for the plant in Halkarni in Gadhinglaj taluka, but the company set it up in Chandgad taluka.
Sanjay Ekal, production in-charge of the company, claimed that the agitation was launched out of ignorance since coal tar was a raw material for the plant and it would be converted into slices.
AVH Chemicals has Tarini Jindal, Balwant Ranka Kumar, Anupam Kumar, Vikram Handa and Mohinder Kumar Singhania as its directors.
Meanwhile, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) has clarified to Zee Media that AVH Chemicals is neither part of JSPL nor is it under the management of Naveen Jindal.
State environment minister Ramdas Kadam had issued orders to the company on February 11 to stop manufacturing and hold a public hearing.
But, the company says the order is yet to reach them. The protests took place when MPCB officials and expert committee chairman T C Benjamin was visiting the company.
After the acts of vandalism at the company premises, the mob went to Patane bye-pass and attacked three police vehicles.
Even an appeal by Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Manojkumar Sharma did not pacify the crowd. The mob fury died down only after MPCB assured them that it has asked the company to stay production.
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