A revelation by Chennai-based rapper Sofia Ashraf regarding the toxic wastes emitted from the Unilever’s closed thermometer factory in Kodaikanal has raised questions on the corporate social responsibility commitment made by the corporate. The rapper has compiled a three-minute video ‘Kodaikanal Won’t’ to highlight how the mercury exuded from this factory is poisoning the Kodaikanal over the years. Tagged as the “princess of hill station”, Kodaikanal is situated 530 km from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Based on Nick Minaj’s Anaconda, the video lyrically explains how the toxic wastes have affected the health of the workers and their families for the past 14 years. Besides, Unilever has failed to provide compensation to these people irrespective of emphasizing on their corporate social responsibility activities. The video asks Unilever to clean up the mess. In her peppy and interesting style, Sofia sings, “Kodaikanal won’t step down until you make amends now.”
As revealed by one of the leading tabloids, the factory, which was acquired by Unilever in 1983, dumped all its toxic wastes in the forests and water of Kodaikanal. Later, it was shut down in 2001 after “dumpsite containing 7.4 tons of toxic waste containing crushed thermometers was found in 2001”.
Through this video, Sofia has urged the readers to sign the petition so that Kodaikanal and its people can get their right of justice and in this case, it’s cleanliness and healthy environment. Till now, out of 25,000, the petition has been signed by 12,204 people. Also video have gained 400K views in 2 days
To sign the petition, click http://www.jhatkaa.org/unilever/
Sofia Ashraf is a rapper and singer who fights for social causes like Bhopal Gas Tragedy Bhopal disaster in India. She is from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.