"Tamil Nadu hydrocarbon project sees protests from farmers, environmentalists", 28 February 2017

...Farmers, villagers and environmentalists are protesting against a soon-to-start hydrocarbon extraction project, claiming that it will affect their farmlands and pollute underground water.

The centre is planning to explore and extract hydrocarbon in Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in Puducherry...including...fields discovered by Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL). The government has awarded contracts for the project to private firms.

 ...“Villagers found oil oozing out of a borewell in Vanakkankadu village which is over 12 km from Neduvasal. This was polluting agricultural lands and we were worried,” said Parthiban Vairavan, a resident of Neduvasal.

...Students and youth of the villages in Pudukottai district have been driving across the streets in bicycles and two wheelers, distributing pamphlets on the hazards of the hydrocarbon project.

...Parthiban said, “#SaveNeduvasal is not Neduvasal’s problem. It is the farmer’s issue.”

*Sourced by RepRisk due diligence on ESG and business conduct risks, www.reprisk.com.