Villagers boycott election to protest pollution

Around 500 voters in Nagaraja Kandigai village in the Tiruvallur Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu boycotted the election in protest against the functioning of a polluting sponge iron factory in their locality, said an official.

"We have asked the company to stop all its operations at its factory... Talks are on with the villages to convince them to participate in the electoral process," Nandakumar, the Revenue Divisional Officer of Ponneri, told IANS.

The villagers are up against the Chennai Ferrous Industries Ltd.

According to officials, no vote had been cast in the polling booth set up for the people of Nagaraja Kandigai village. IANS