New Delhi: Hundreds of locals joined protests against a proposed data centre of Amazon in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Saturday (July 18), news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The protestors raised concerns over threats to the environment posed by such a project, noise pollution and consumption of large quantities of water and electricity. 

In a statement issued on behalf of the spokesperson from Amazon, the US-based e-commerce giant maintained that “the state-of-the-art facility will not draw or divert power from the local distribution grid that serves residential and commercial consumers, but through its own dedicated high-voltage substation, planned in coordination with the utility.”

On the issue of high quantities of water likely to be consumed by the project, the spokesperson on behalf of Amazon further stated: “Amazon does not currently use water for cooling in its data centres in India, including the Thane site, and we do not draw from the community’s drinking or potable water for cooling purposes.”

On July 7, Shiv Sena MP from Thane Naresh Mhaske wrote to the Thane Municipal Corporation, raising alarm over the project being given a go-ahead in a densely populated area. 

Among the demands made by MP Mhaske included review of all the permits granted to the project by an independent expert committee followed by a public hearing and a joint meeting involving locals, experts and public representatives. 

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