News of India Report
Crackdown on Polluting Factories
Protestors Block Roads and Disrupt Traffic
Violent protests by owners and workers brought the city to a standstill today. People getting to work could not do so on time because of huge traffic jams. The owners and workers are protesting the government's decision to close down polluting factory units.
Although, the government did take this decision rather hastily, the protestors have known for quite some time that their units are not legal. Moreover, the levels of pollution in the city will be greatly reduced by this closure. Mr Jain a well known figure in the city said, "With our city gradually becoming India's new business hub, it is important that it be a clean and green city. Polluting factories should be moved. The factory owners and workers should accept the relocation being offered by the government instead of protesting".
India Daily Report
Closure of factories causes unrest
The closure of one lakh factories in the city's residential areas is likely to become a serious issue. On Monday, thousands of factory owners and workers took to the streets to strongly protest this closure. They said that their livelihoods would be lost. They say that the fault lies with the municipal corporation because it continued to issue licenses for new factories to be set up in residential areas.
They also say that there were no adequate relocation efforts. The owners and workers plan a one-day city bandh to protest against this closure. Mr Sharma, one of the factory owners said, "The government says that it has done a lot to relocate us.
But the areas they have sent us to have no facilities and have not been developed for the last-five years."
(i) Are the above stories in the two newspapers similar? And if not, why not? What in your view, are the similarities and the differences?
(ii) If you read the story in the News of India, what would you think about the issue?