People protested against a proposed Amazon data centre in the Balkum area of Thane city, claiming it would pose an environmental threat, create noise pollution and consume large amounts of water and electricity. The US-headquartered e-commerce giant, however, said it was complying with all environmental laws and that the data centre would not utilise local power and water sources. The protesters claimed that the data centre will require at least 12 million litres of water every day besides "unlimited electricity".
The protesters claimed that it would generate continuous noise, posing a health risk as large residential complexes, five schools and three hospitals including a children's hospital are located within its one km radius.
A delegation of protesters, under the banner of 'Wake Up Thanekar', met the Thane municipal commissioner and Amazon representatives last Thursday.
But the meeting did not lead to satisfactory solutions, the protesters claimed.
An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement 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."
As to water utilization, the spokesperson said the company recently achieved a 'water positive' status in India by returning more water to communities than it consumes.
"Amazon does not currently use water for cooling in its data centers in India, including our Thane site, and we do not draw from the community's drinking or potable water for cooling purposes," the statement said.
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