Industry versus the people: The Sterlite tragedy could have been averted

The sparking point for Tuesday's tragedy was the company's announcement that it was investing Rs 25 billion towards doubling the capacity of its existing facility

The death of 12 people and serious injuries to hundreds of others in clashes with the police around the Sterlite copper smelter in Tuticorin on Tuesday holds a critical lesson for the political leadership of all states that hope to bank on rapid industrialisation to create jobs and move up the development ladder. It is that people and politicians do not necessarily view industrial development through the same prism. For the former, it can spell dispossession of land or a deterioration of lifestyle, livelihood and health, and the latter often fail to understand these deep-seated reservations in their quest for