UK's Vedanta Resources working with regulators to restart copper smelter in Tamil Nadu

Reuters 

(Reuters) - British and group Plc is working with regulators to expedite restarting its smelter in Tamil Nadu, it said on Wednesday, a day after protests turned violent at the plant.

The company also posted a 27 percent rise in full-year core profit to $4.1 billion, driven by stronger commodity prices.

At least nine people were killed on Tuesday, when police fired at violent protesters calling for the closure of the Thootukudi smelter, which is run by its Indian subsidiary Vedanta Ltd's Sterlite unit.

Demonstrations against the copper plant, one of India's biggest, have been going on for more than three months, with protesters alleging that it is a major source of pollution and risk to fisheries, and demands the plant be shut permanently.

(Reporting By in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)

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First Published: Wed, May 23 2018. 12:06 IST