Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Residents of Thane have stepped up their opposition to a proposed Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre in Balkum, raising concerns over its location in a densely populated area and its potential impact on the local environment, power supply and quality of life.
The residents, campaigning under the banner of “Wake Up Thanekar” (WUT), are opposing the proposed facility being developed by Amazon Data Services India on a 53-acre plot. Estimated to involve an investment of around Rs 47,000 crore, the project is expected to be among the largest data centre facilities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
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For residents, however, the primary concern is not the data centre itself but where it is being built. “I am not against data centre. I am against setting it up in the middle of the town and in our vicinity. There are high-rises and three villages surrounding this centre. There are schools, hospitals and public transport like the metro near this plot. Hence, the location is wrong and hazardous,” said resident Anuradha Rode, pointing towards the proposed site from her building terrace.
RESIDENTS FLAG HEAT, NOISE AND EMISSIONS
WUT organised a human-chain protest on July 18 and later held a meeting with Amazon officials to discuss their concerns. Residents said they had consulted experts before the meeting, but claimed that several of their technical and environmental concerns remained unanswered.
“We went prepared for the meeting and consulted many experts regarding it. Our primary concern is about a large data centre being built in the middle of a densely populated residential area. But they failed to satisfy us on this issue,” said resident Megha Shetty.
Residents have specifically raised concerns over heat generated by the facility, noise from nearly 190 diesel generator sets, exhaust emissions and the overall environmental impact of operating a large hyperscale data centre in a residential neighbourhood.
Amazon, meanwhile, has published a detailed response to several of the concerns raised by residents. On water consumption, the company said the Thane facility would not use water for cooling. “Amazon’s data centre development in Thane will not use any water for cooling. In fact, we do not currently use water for cooling in any of our data centres in India, and do not draw from the community’s drinking or potable water for cooling purposes,” it said.
Amazon said the approved water supply permit for the facility is 0.01 million litres per day and is intended only for basic human needs such as drinking water and restrooms for employees. It added that the facility would use air-cooled chillers and closed-loop cooling technology.
Residents, however, remain concerned about the amount of heat that could be generated by the facility. “They will use around 80,000 air conditioners in the data centre to cool down the machines. It is going to create a heat island in Balkum, Dhokali and Majiwada areas. Every year in summers, temperatures are already hitting new highs,” said resident Gurasis Singh.
Amazon rejected the concern that heat from the facility would raise temperatures in surrounding communities, saying heat management had been incorporated into the facility’s design. According to the company, heat generated by servers would be released through cooling systems and dissipated into the atmosphere without affecting air temperatures in nearby communities.
POWER DEMAND, OUTAGES ALSO WORRY RESIDENTS
The project’s expected power requirement has also emerged as a major concern. Residents fear that a facility requiring a large and uninterrupted electricity supply could put additional pressure on the area’s power infrastructure. “This plant is coming up next to an electricity grid. A hyperscale data centre requires a heavy, uninterrupted supply of 420 MW. We have already witnessed a power cut in the last few months,” said resident Jatin Kothare.
Amazon said the concern would not affect the electricity supply to local consumers. It said the Thane facility would receive power through its own dedicated extra-high-voltage substation, planned in coordination with the utility after feasibility assessments. “It will not draw or divert power from the local distribution grid that serves residents and commercial consumers,” the company said.
Noise pollution is another issue raised by residents, particularly because of the large number of backup diesel generator sets that are expected to be installed at the facility.
Amazon said the data centre would comply with the legal noise limits under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. It said the facility would incorporate sound-dampening building materials and insulation, strategic equipment placement, acoustic enclosures and mufflers where required.
RESIDENTS QUESTION PROJECT CLEARANCES
Residents have also questioned the government approvals and policy framework under which the project has been cleared, arguing that the potential impact on surrounding residential areas should have been assessed more closely.
“We are not against the government, but it seems that those who gave permissions for this project did not visit the site to assess the impact this centre can have on thousands of residents,” Rode said.
Kothare said residents felt let down by the authorities over the project. “We trusted the government to do our good, but they have failed. The way this land was sold to Amazon by a developer and the subsequent ITES policy, which remains silent on such centres in residential areas, are evidence of that,” he said.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
