Safeguard our livelihood: Parandur villagers to ministers

CHENNAI: People of Ekanapuram village near Sriperumbudur have ‘dropped’ the yatra they had proposed to take out on October 17 in protest of the land acquisition for Parandur Greenfield Airport following talks with the state ministers on Saturday.

A committee of state PWD minister E V Velu, industries minister Thangam Thennarasu and state MSMEs minister T M Anbarasan on Saturday held talks with farmers of Ekanapuram at the state secretariat vis-a-vis the objections raised by the villagers, especially land acquisition for the Greenfield airport project.

A release issued by state government said that people of Ekanapuram, have assured to drop the rally they proposed to take out on October 17 demanding the fulfilment of their rights.

The release quoted the farmers as informing ministers that agriculture was the predominant occupation for the majority of the 2,400 residents of Ekanapuram village and the Kambakkalvai (Kamba canal) falls within the land earmarked for the Greenfield airport project.

The farmers' delegates also urged the government to find ways to protect their village and their livelihood.

The statement said that the CM has instructed the ministers to ensure that no resident of the village gets affected and create livelihood opportunities to them besides providing 3.5 times the market price to the land donors.

The official release said that the minister’s assured to take up their demands with the CM. The government has proposed to acquire land from 13 revenue villages in Kancheepuram for the project.