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Sofia Ashraf's video, posted online by a nongovernmental
organization called Jhatkaa, or "shock" in Hindi, has had more
than a million views on YouTube, drawing attention to
accusations against a thermometer factory in the town of
Kodaikanal that closed down 14 years ago.
Hindustan Unilever, the Indian subsidiary of the consumer goods
company, has denied wrongdoing. It disputes claims of former
workers who say their health has been damaged by exposure to
mercury.
The company said it shut down the factory in 2001 when
environmental activists including Greenpeace "brought to
Hindustan Unilever's attention the fact that glass scrap
containing mercury" had been sold to a scrap dealer about three
kilometers from the factory.
"We have been rigorous in establishing the facts and several
independent expert studies have concluded that there were no
adverse impacts on the health of our people at Kodaikanal. We
have also taken action to ensure the clean-up of soil within the
factory premises," a Hindustan Unilever spokesperson said in an
email.
"There is still work to do here - which we are committed to
fulfilling - as soon as we have received final consent from the
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to start the soil
remediation."
Set to the beat of Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda", and retweeted by
Minaj herself, Ashraf also asks Unilever to compensate workers.
"Kodaikanal won't step down, until you make amends now," she
raps.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Mumbai; Editing by Nick
Macfie)
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