More than 970 voters in Katharikuppam in Katpadi Assembly Constituency boycotted the election till 6 p.m. demanding closure of a polluting factory in their village.
According to officials there are 992 voters in the village.
However, till 6 p.m., only 18 votes were polled.
“We have been demanding the closure of a tyre factory in our village. The unit separates the metals from the tyre and sells them as crap and the tyre is burnt to get a type of oil which is used in paints,” said A. Rudramoorthy, a resident.
Deenadayalan, a 27-year-old resident of the village, said that the factory was set up two-and-a-half years ago. “Smoke caused due to smoking of tyres has been causing health problems, including breathlessness and heartburn, for the villagers,” he claimed.
Road roko
On April 1, the villagers staged a road roko and the factory was closed temporarily.
“However they reopened it a few days ago. Hence we decided to boycott the polls till we get some respite,” said Mr. Deenadayalan.
V. Ramu, the AIADMK candidate in Katapadi, tried to convince the residents to cast their vote, but they did not budge.
