AIADMK cadre, environmental activists and residents of nine villages held a day-long protest against the State government’s plan to acquire a vast tract of land for the proposed phase-3 project of SIPCOT industrial park at the Anakavoor panchayat union near Cheyyar town in Tiruvannamalai on Wednesday.
The protest, led by former AIADMK Minister Sevur S. Ramachandran, was announced by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami last week. A large number of cadre from most of the 18 panchayat unions in the district participated in the protest, raising slogans against the DMK government for anti-farmer policies and initiatives. “Despite being thriving farming villages, the identified lands were classified as wastelands, making the State government opt for land acquisition for the project,” said K. Muthu, a resident.
As per the plan, 3,174 acres of land will be acquired from nine farming villages — Melma, Narmapallam, Kurumbur, Thethurai, Nedungal, Athi,Vada Alapirandan, Veerapakkam and Lianeerkundram — for the phase-3 project, which began over a decade back, in Anakavoor panchayat union.
However, residents said most of the identified farming lands are under cultivation with paddy being the main crop.
Farmers also grow groundnuts, sugar cane, banana, tomatoes, brinjal, green chillies and ladies finger. Flowers, including marigold, jasmine and lilies also form the major source of income for farmers in these villages.
Around 3,000 families are directly involved in farming and over 2,500 persons, including agricultural workers, are dependent on these farmland, residents added.
Social activist and a local resident A. Arul, who coordinates the farmers’ agitation in the area over the issue, said residents of the nine villages had been protesting against land acquisition at Anakkavur panchayat union since July 2. They take turns to continue the agitation at the protest site.
Two public consultation meetings that were held in Cheyyar town by the district administration did not yield the desired result. With no headway, they had been continuing their agitation against the project, he added.
