A mysterious silence has descended on Periyakuppam village in Chennai’s Ennore, which many will remember as the epicentre of protests against Murugappa Group’s Coromandel International Limited (CIL) after a massive ammonia leak from one of its plants in December 2023. The factory, which was forced to down shutters with hundreds of fisherfolk from 33 nearby villages sitting on dharna, has quietly resumed operations. The fierce agitators who at one point organised a non-stop 100-day-protest seem to have given up their fight against the company, which has caused at least two ammonia leaks since it was established in 1963. CIL got conditional clearance from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in May 2024 to reopen.

When TNM visited Periyakuppam on Saturday, August 17, a day after CIL resumed partial operations, we came across tell-tale signs of a pact between the company and the people, mediated by a politician. 

We also found that residents, many of whom are still recovering from the last ammonia leak, were given cash to secure their silence since they were determined to protest if the company were to reopen. They also said that they were under pressure to accept the money.

One such resident who was forced into silence called us on August 16 and made some shocking claims which led us to rush to Ennore. The man, who did not wish to be identified, alleged that many residents of Periyakuppam, Chinnakuppam, Nettukuppam, and Thalankuppam villages were given Rs 10,000 each by their village committee head, known as the ‘chettiar’ or chieftain. When we reached the villages, everybody we spoke to confirmed that they had received the money. Meanwhile, residents of the local Dalit colony claimed that they were left out of the payouts.