Residents hold protest against Amazon data centre in Thane
Citizens, wearing t-shirts with the words ‘Wake Up Thanekar’ and carrying placards and placards against the project, demanded that the data center be removed from the area, claiming that it would lead to noise pollution, environmental hazards, water and electricity shortage.
Local NCP(SP) leader Manoj Pradhan, who led the protest, said data centers are known to cause noise pollution and hence should not be located in residential areas.
He also warned about water shortage. “The data center requires a huge amount of water per day and there are already several buildings in Thane that are not getting water from the Thane municipal corporation due to a short-term dip. With the data centre, the problem will only increase.”
High-cost infrastructure and other investment projects in Maharashtra have been derailed due to opposition from political parties. Currently, BJP ally Shiv Sena has also opposed the project.
Shiv Sena leader and Lok Sabha MP from Thane Naresh Mhaske has sent letters to the Thane municipal authority seeking to stay on the project for violating various norms such as cutting more trees than approved for the project, review of project permits by an independent expert committee and also a detailed public hearing of the project.
Maharashtra is investing heavily in data centers and is keen on making the Mumbai Metropolitan Region an investment hub for data centres. The state government believes that 60% of India’s data centers will be located in the MMR region, which includes Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Vasai-Virar, Mira Bhayandar and Panvel.
