Dow halts work at Chakan

30 September 2008

Dow Chemical International Private Limited yesterday said that it had temporarily halted all work at its proposed R&D centre at Chakan pending instructions from chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Earlier in the week, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had ordered the Dow Chemical to stop work for a month, following intesified agitation against the project by local population, which is also being supported by retired Bombay high Court judge B.G. Kolse Patil.

The saint-poet followers of the Warkari sect and environmental activists have been fiercely opposed to the project, which, they say, would pollute a nearby river and the entire area around the project.

The Warkari Vaishnavite sect is a part of the bhakti movement of Hinduism and the movement is largely prevalent in Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka. Warkari followers travel hundreds of miles on foot to Pandharpur  to worship its presiding deity Vitthal or Vithoba, regarded as Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu.

"Dow India will comply with all the directives stated by the government to find a peaceful resolution to the current situation," the US chemical gaint said in a press statement.

Dow India president and CEO  Dr Ramesh Ramachandran, was quoted in the company statement saying, ''The company has complied with all laws of the state in seeking permission to set up the R&D centre at Chakan. We will continue to work with the government and its agencies to clear any doubts regarding R&D project''