A protest against MRPL by residents of Jokatte and nearby villages turned ugly on Thursday with the protesters allegedly throwing stones at workers who were installing a 30-ft high-wind break-wall at the refinery’s coke yard.
The wall is being built to prevent dust from the yard flying towards the residential areas. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had served two notices on MRPL asking it to take steps to prevent pollution.
Muneer Katipalla, from of the Nagarika Horata Samiti that is leading the protest, said that villagers threw stones as they were not convinced that the wall would be able to prevent pollution.
The workers are working with security cover. “We have been stopping them from creating trouble for the last few days. Today, the villagers were more in number and threw stones at the workers,” Mr. Muneer said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Ravi Kumar said that he reached the spot after the incident. “The villagers have been protesting thus for the last four days. When I came with my team on Thursday, there were only a few villagers around and we sent them away. The workmen had already left the area,” Mr. Ravi Kumar said and added that no complaint has been filed with the police so far.
