25th September, 2008 : Dow Chemicals face bandh scare

It was just waiting to happen. Dow Chemicals R&D centre near Pune is up for a major showdown from the people - mainly members of the Warkari community, the followers of saint Tukaram and saint Dnayneshwar - in and around the towns of Alandi and Dehu, 30 kilometres north of Pune. Since Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar has supported the project, it was but natural that political parties like Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) joined the fray in supporting a bandh. The protestors claim that the company's operations would lead to severe enviromental crisis and pollution within the Dehu-Alandi belt known for its religious importance.