On January 16, they blocked the road leading to a 100-acre construction site—one that, if Dow Chemical has its way, will be their first R&D unit in India. The project was started in October.

The construction work at the Rs 400-crore ‘Global Research Centre’ came to a grinding halt as hundreds of residents of Shinde village, a quiet hamlet tucked away in the interiors of Khed taluka in Pune district, woke up to an uncomfortable reality—that Dow Chemical now owns Union Carbide Corporation. The Corporation was the parent company of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) when the Bhopal tragedy struck in 1984. For the villagers, however, it is of no consequence that UCIL was hived off by UCC in 1994 to McLeod Russel (India) Limited. The negative light under which the 1,500-odd villagers have begun to look at Dow Chemical’s centre has led to a decision that not a single truck, carrying building material or any worker to the construction site, will be allowed to pass through the village, the sole approach to the Dow Chemical unit. They know it could soon become a ‘law-and-order’ situation and they’re bracing up to face such an eventuality, though as of now the protest is a peaceful one.

Sarpanch Gorakh Rambhau Temghire — who was called twice last week by the sub-divisional officer to be persuaded to withdraw the agitation — has told the villagers that the agitation will continue under the umbrella of Bhamchandragarh Bachao Warkari Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, after Bhamchandragarh, a place of historical importance near their village.

... contd.