What happens when a Google data centre comes to town?
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centre → happen → town
Southern India is finding out
Construction of a multi-billion dollar AI hub worries residents of Visakhapatnam
A group of farmers sits under the shade of a Jamun tree, chewing over the big news in their village: Google is moving in.
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Google → find → village
Google, with India's powerful Adani Group, is building a massive $15 billion US AI data centre hub in and around Visakhapatnam, a port city on India's east coast.
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Google → build → coast
Farmer Bali Narasingha Rao owned one acre in Tarluvada.
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Rao → own → Tarluvada
Pressured to sell, he says he got 17 lakhs, about $25,000, for his land — but he's unsettled about the future.
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he → pressure → future
Earth movers are clearing more than 260 acres here — the biggest of three sites.
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movers → clear → sites
"Our land is gone, and that land was our livelihood," he said, adding that some of the village leaders told them the data centre was locating here because other countries didn’t want it.
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countries → go → it
In the race to secure a piece of it, the state government of Andhra Pradesh, has welcomed Google's five-year, multi-billion dollar investment, covering over 600 acres on three sites.
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government → secure → sites
At the ground-breaking ceremony in April, N. Chandrababu Naidu, the state's chief minister, said "Google is very important.
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Google → break → April
If they are willing to come I'll do everything I can to extend co-operation.
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I → come → operation
"
The build out in this corner of India for a one-gigawatt hub is the largest for Google outside the U.S. and in many ways mirrors some concerns in other jurisdictions over water use, energy demands and noise from data centres.
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build → mirror → centres
"Having AI data centres is something I think India must do," said Sribharat Mathukumilli the MP for Vishakhapatnam, adding the state has big plans to attract fintech companies, banks and AI startups.
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state → have → companies
But there is opposition from some environmental and human rights advocates, who argue the project's approvals were fast-tracked and that the costs outweigh the rewards.
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costs → be → rewards
Sribharat Mathukumilli, the MP for Vishakhapatnam, promotes the economic benefits of attracting data centres to India.
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Mathukumilli → promote → India
"This data centre boom for us doesn't look more than a real estate project," said 26-year-old Deeksha Vanguru, a community organizer originally from Vizag, as Visakhapatnam is known.
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Visakhapatnam → look → Vizag
"It is just whoever can secure the most amount of land, and slap a bunch of concrete there."
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whoever → secure → concrete
The "Stop Dirty Data Centres" campaign regularly canvasses villagers and neighbourhoods next to the three construction sites which make up Google's AI hub.
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which → stop → hub
Recently Meta blocked the campaign's Instagram account under India's information technology rules.
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Meta → block → rules
India, Vanguru says, is fertile ground for big tech companies to expand.
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companies → say → ?
"We have weak laws in terms of environmental laws, regulation laws and we give out a lot of subsidies," she said.
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she → have → subsidies
A municipal reservoir in Visakhapatnam shows the effects of this year's drought and weak monsoon.
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reservoir → show → drought
, the state offered discounts on land and concessions on water and electricity tariffs for ten years.
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state → offer → years
"This is of huge economic value," said Mathukumilli, the MP.
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Mathukumilli → say → value
"Over time, while [Google] may have some incentives upfront, it will be a long-term economic boost."
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it → have → incentives
Vanguru sees it differently.
"
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Vanguru → see → it
The central government has categorized data centres as essential infrastructures.
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government → categorize → infrastructures
In a country where schools are in a bad shape, where hospitals are not available," she said.
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she → say → shape
Google's project, according to the government, could create up to 150,000 indirect jobs in related tech industries, and 4,000 a year during construction.
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project → accord → construction
But running the data centres will require only hundreds of permanent employees; many of those will be service jobs to maintain the facilities, argue opponents.
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opponents → run → facilities
Demonstrators march against the Google hub in Visakhapatnam, on Sept. 19.
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Demonstrators → march → Sept.
Activists regularly canvass villagers and neighbourhoods next to the three construction sites.
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Activists → canvass → sites
In the rural village of Tarluvada, just outside Visakhapatnam, a group of young men approach CBC News.
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group → approach → News
"We‘re talking [for] our village members, ma'am,” said 23-year-old Bali Charan Teja.
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Teja → talk → members
Local farmer Bali Narasingha Rao, left, was persuaded to sell his one acre of land for the data centre.
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Rao → persuade → centre
It was the only land he'd ever owned and now he worries about the next generation.
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he → own → generation
"It's a data storage centre, useful for only storage or cooling of the systems so I can't believe that we can get any employment here."
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we → believe → employment
He's studying to be a civil engineer and thought he would inherit his family's farm land — now sold off — as part of his legacy.
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he → study → legacy
Nearby in Vizag, some residents are worried the data centre will use up too much water.
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centre → worry → water
A weak monsoon and drought this year have stretched water resources.
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monsoon → stretch → resources
The local reservoir has receded and ground water is dropping.
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water → recede → ?
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
