Five years on, Sterlite Copper plant closure haunts Thoothukudi

This is not the story of just Amrita Chemicals, but of around 400-odd downstream units, 40-odd contractors and even transport companies

Way back in 2005, N P Gopalakrishnan and his partners started a company called Amrita Chemicals with an investment of around Rs 12 crore. It used to source fluorosilicic acid (a waste material), from the copper smelter owned by Sterlite’s copper plant in Thoothukudi, and convert it into sodium silicofluoride, which is used in industries such as glass, rubber and metal fluxes. At its peak, Amrita Chemicals used to export to several countries and its domestic clients included the likes of Piramal Glass (now PGP Glass) and Borosil.

Exactly five years ago in May 2018, Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper was closed