Following the GAIL pipeline explosion in East Godavari district, farmers in the western districts of Tamil Nadu feel vindicated in their opposition to the project which they opposed both for loss of farmland as well as safety risk.
“Safety is as much a factor as livelihood is. Farmers cannot accept any assurance on safety from GAIL,” said P.R. Natarajan, former Member of Parliament from Coimbatore who led the protests. Safety was a primary point they had raised during the protests and now GAIL must draw up an alternative route that avoided human habitations, he said.
“The safety promises of GAIL officials have proved hollow in the backdrop of this accident. Even now after this incident, the GAIL officials are unwilling to concede that there are legitimate fears over this project and, instead, they insist it is safe,” said P. Kandasamy, general secretary of the Coimbatore district Tamizhaga Vivasiyagal Sangham. GAIL must opt for ‘utility carriers,’ which are hi-tech pipelines used in foreign countries to convey gas, V.D. Balasubramaniam, president of the Sangham suggested.
In Salem, coordinator of the district unit of the struggle committee T. Ramesh said: “The incident has deepened our worries. Our life will be at stake if the pipeline is laid. It is not just a question of adequate compensation for farm land. It is a question of life now.”
“In addition to the threat to livelihood, the fear of such accidents galvanised farmers associations in eight districts of western region to go on a series of protests against the project,” said K.M. Ramagoundar State general secretary of Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangham, a farmers’ federation. “If a fire broke out due to leaking of gas from the pipeline it would have devastating effect over 20 to 30 km radius,” he claimed.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA from Harur in Dharmapuri P. Dillibabu said he had moved a calling attention motion in the State Assembly to have the project stopped.
The accident in Andhra Pradesh was a pointer to the level of risk from the proposed pipeline in Tamil Nadu, he said.
GAIL has proposed to acquire nearly 10,000 acres in the western districts of Tamil Nadu for the 310 km pipeline, including around 1,000 acres of farmland in Coimbatore alone. After the farmers’ protest against the project intensified in 2013, the Tamil Nadu government backed the farmers.
Ordering status quo on the project, the Supreme Court, earlier this year, had asked the GAIL to explore the possibility of using the land along the national highway. “Why do you want to go into farmers’ house?
It is very improper,” a bench comprising the then Chief Justice P. Sathasivam had asked.
(With inputs from S.P.Saravanan in Salem and R. Arivanantham in Krishnagiri)
