Cummins engineering college students sported black badges reading ‘Kick out Dow,’ ‘Save Pune’ and also attended the meeting held by the anti-Dow movement members. Alka Joshi of Lokayat, one of the members from the movement, briefed the students about the history of Dow in India and worldwide. She said Dow refused to accept the liabilities of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the company which Dow had taken over in 2001.

The members also organised a protest meeting against Dow at the LIC branch office at the Commonwealth building on Laxmi road. “Nearly 50 employees from this branch and a nearby branch of LIC attended the meet during their lunch break to understand the issue,” said Joshi. Later, the employees also passed a resolution denouncing the permission given by the government and have demanded cancellation of the same. The movement has started these meetings to mobilise people for the demonstrations to be held from March 8 onwards by the anti-Dow movement members in various parts of the city. Meetings have been planned at Alandi, Nigdi and Pimpri, besides which one demonstration will go via Shaniwarwada and Narayanpeth to Jungli Maharaj Road.

Meanwhile, company officers are still optimistic that things will ease out. In a release, N Y Sanglikar, director, public affairs, Dow India, has said the company has been “striving to reach out to the villagers for the past year and plan to continue to do so.”

He added that the company truly believes the R&D centre is an investment that will benefit the “community and the state.