Kodaikanal, meaning ‘the gift of the forest’ in Tamil, is a hill station, located in the district of Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. Once upon a time, Hindustan Unilever Limited had set up a thermometer factory there. They shut it down but high levels of toxic mercury are still found in vegetation and sediments in the surrounding area of the thermometer factory.
Sofia Ashraf, a musical artist from Chennai, who considers Kodaikanal to be the princess of hill stations, has composed a rap, in support of the issue , unequivocally telling Unilever that…
Unilever has been hiding behind, Their fake PSAs and Pepsodent smilesThey washed their hands off Kodai with LifebuoyThere is nothing Fair and Lovely about this trial………Kodaikanal won’t…Kodaikanal won’t…Kodaikanal won’t step down until you make amends now….
The factory workers were exposed to mercury without adequate protection. Eventually workers of the factory faced several health issues, to which the company turned a deaf ear. The factory even dumped their toxic waste in the lap of mother nature. Finally, HUL was shut down in 2001 but it has been over 14 years and the company has not made any amends till now.
According to The Hindu ‘s reports , a recent study done by Community Environmental Monitoring, a Chennai based NGO, has confirmed that high level toxic mercury is still found in that area. The site remains contaminated but protesters and activists of Kodikanal won’t step down until HUL gives the rightful compensation to the victims.
Just in case this video has inspired you enough please feel free to sign this petition asking the people at Unilever to take responsibility for their actions .
