CHENNAI: The villagers of Ekaranapuram in Kancheepuram district, who have been protesting against the construction of a greenfield airport in Parandur, have been issued summons by the police to appear in court for boycotting the parliamentary elections held on April 19th.
The villagers have been protesting for over 600 days against the airport project, and as part of their protest, they decided to boycott the elections.
Though the district collector requested to withdraw their boycott, the villagers went ahead with their plan. On the day of the election, only a few government staff in the village cast their votes, and the villagers allegedly surrounded the tahsildar (a government official) who tried to persuade them to vote and asked him to leave the village.
The tahsildar has filed a complaint with the police, alleging that the villagers attacked him and his driver. Following this, the police have registered cases against 10 villagers and have issued summons to them to appear in court. This has created further tension among the villagers in Parandur and Ekaranapuram.