In yet another blow to Dow Chemical's plans for India the company has had to halt work on its new R&D centre at Chakan, near Pune, following instructions from the Maharashtra chief minister.
The government's directive was aimed at appeasing the local population which has been strongly protesting against Dow and had even forcibly entered the site and set the centre on fire in July.
The chief concern of the locals is that the centre would pollute the area which is sacred to them. This is despite reassurances from Dow and local authorities that the company would not be carrying out any manufacturing at the site.
Dow's plan is to employ 500 Indian scientists at the centre to work on projects like purifying water for consumption, energy efficiency and the effective use of green technology.
Surely, there is no reason to protest against this type of investment.