VISAKHAPATNAM, Oct 11 — Handcuffs encircle Google’s logo on one campaign poster, while another warns that people “cannot drink data”, as opposition mounts to the tech giant’s planned AI mega-facility in India.
Excavators have swung into action, clearing forest and farmland on the southeast coast for the US$15 billion construction of Google’s largest data centre outside the United States.
The project at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state, a port often called Vizag, is championed by India as a cornerstone of its technological ambitions.
But many residents fear the data centre — one of several huge new tech sites in Vizag — will strain water and power resources, damage the environment and bring too few jobs in return.
