Villagers oppose private land measurement for airport project

According to PMK district organising secretary A Velmurugan, a resident of the area, “Officials are not following their promise. When the project was first proposed, we agitated that the farm land near the airport should not be disturbed. Following this, Revenue officials assured us that the airport will come up only in the existing premises. They promised us that they will not disturb the farmland near the airport.”

After ensuring access to Asanambut, however, airport officials announced that the road would be blocked from the airport entrance to the Chennai- Bangalore National Highway.

Villagers said officials planted flags in the land with patta. They added that if the land was acquired, that would affect nearly 150 families, besides two irrigation tanks that provide water for 10 nearby villages. “Though the area initially had 15 borewells to supply water, now only four are functional,” Kumar, a farmer added. “There is enough land behind the airport for the expansion. For the benefits of a few private colleges and the golden temple, they are making farmers suffer,” he added.

AAI officals were unaware of the move and Chennai regional executive director P Sreekumar was not available for comment.