Villagers from South Veerapandiapuram, Saminatham, Pandarambatti, and nearby areas besieged the Thoothukudi District Collector’s Office on 16 June 2025, urging the state government to reopen the closed Sterlite Copper Plant and its associated Thermal Power Station in Thoothukudi.
Hundreds of villagers — many of them previously employed by the copper plant — said their livelihoods have been severely affected by its shutdown. According to the villagers, nearly 300 youths from their community were employed at the plant, but after its closure, many have been forced to work as daily wage laborers with low pay and poor employment prospects.
The petition presented to the Collector stressed that the reopening of the plant would enable locals to find employment matching their education and skills. The villagers also demanded that the government pass a special resolution in the Legislative Assembly to facilitate the reopening, stating that many related industries would create much-needed employment for Thoothukudi’s youth.
The delegation further alleged that while the government had recently cleared other manufacturing companies’ operations in Tamil Nadu, the Sterlite plant remained closed, adding to the financial struggles of the community.
The petition was received by the District Collector’s Office, which is currently experiencing a shortage of officers to handle the growing number of complaints and appeals. The villagers remain hopeful that their livelihoods will be restored if the plant is allowed to restart.
These protests to reopen Sterlite have been going on for quite some time. In December 2024, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), the age-old workers’ union of Congress, held a protest in Chidambaranagar, calling on the state government to reopen the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi and to focus on increasing employment opportunities in the region.
In February 2025, following calls from the INTUC, Namakkal Lorry Owners’ Association, and Namakkal Trailer Owners’ Association, the Thoothukudi Contractors’ Association urged for the reopening of the Sterlite Vedanta copper smelting plant, which was shut down in 2018.
In May 2025, representatives from the Thoothukudi People Livelihood Protection Association, along with residents from nearby villages, submitted a formal request to Member of Parliament Kanimozhi, appealing for the reopening of the Sterlite Copper plant.
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