Farmers from Pongalur to Kunnathur and Arisipalayam have opposed the proposed Karur-Coimbatore bypass road.
The National Highways Authority of India has proposed a six-lane greenfield road project between Coimbatore and Karur and an eastern bypass road.
The farmers gathered for a meeting at Karanampettai on Saturday to draw the attention of the Governments to their opposition to the project. The farmers, who were from more than 20 panchayats in the region, passed a resolution at the meeting demanding the Central and State governments to drop the proposal and widen the existing road between Coimbatore and Karur. “We will submit a copy of the resolution to all the authorities concerned,” said K. Satheesh Kumar, working committee member of Kongu Mandala Vivasaigal Vazhvaadhara Padhukaapu Kuzhu.
The proposal is for a 53-km road, which is longer than the existing road, Mr. Satheesh Kumar said. The plan is to acquire 2,957 acres and more than 80 % of the agricultural land since this is a greenfield project. Some of the land identified are under the PAP scheme too. Small farmers, who have two or three acres, will be the most affected. The compensation that they will get will not match the existing market price for their land. The farmers will not be able to buy another land with the money they get, he added.
Instead of the proposed Eastern Bypass, some of the existing roads can be widened.
“We have so far met leaders, ministers, and officials. No one has replied or given a feedback to our demand. The project is still in DPR stage. So we will wait and watch,” he added.
The meeting was organised so that the governments know about the opposition to the project. “We have only one demand. We do not want this road,” he said. Heads of farmers’ associations and political leaders spoke at the meeting.
