Residents affected by airport expansion to boycott elections

MAKING A STAND: A file picture showing social activist Medha Patkar with residents protesting in Manapakkam

Residents affected by airport expansion to boycott elections

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: Irked by political indifference to their demands, residents of Manapakkam, Gerugambakkam, Kolapakkam, Tarapakkam and Kovur have decided to either boycott the polls or exercise the right ‘not to vote’ under Rule 49 (O) of the Conduct of Election Rules.

These villages, which house about 2,500 families and 5,000 voters, come under the Sriperumbudur constituency and the land here has been marked for acquisition to construct a parallel runway for the airport.

“We will not support any political party unless political parties give an undertaking that they will de-notify the 939 acres of land marked for acquisition,” said representatives of the United Peoples’ Forum for Survival, formed by residents whose land has been notified for acquisition for more than a year.

At a press conference, Brinda Brighton, an office-bearer of the forum, said “we have been raising this demand for a while, but none of the candidates has made any commitment to save us. This has not figured as an issue in the campaigning also. So, residents and their well wishers will also boycott the polls.”

In addition to the 130 acres of land handed over for extending the secondary runway, the state government has notified around 939 acres of land in these villages for constructing a parallel runway. However, the state government had not only failed to acquire the land for over a year, but also had kept the residents in the dark about the status of the move.

“We want the government to go ahead with the Greenfield airport instead of spending huge money to build a parallel runway. The runway will take away 947 houses, 250 semi-constructed houses, 2,000 approved plots, 14 brick kilns, an international school with 2,000 students, 15 small-scale industries, and 500 acres of agriculture land,” Brighton said.

Recently, residents brought social activist Medha Patkar and staged a protest meet at Manapakkam urging the government to de-notify the land marked for acquisition and demanding the government to go ahead with the Greenfield airport.

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