Farmers fast against Salem-Chennai green corridor project

Want government to announce cancellation of project in the ongoing Assembly session

Up in arms: Farmers staging an agitation in Salem on Sunday. E. LakshmiNarayanan

Urging the State government to drop the proposed Salem–Chennai eight-lane green corridor project and announce a decision to this effect in the ongoing Assembly session itself, members of the Movement Against Eight Lane Way observed a day’s fast at Soolaimedu village in Uthamacholapuram here on Sunday.

Led by the organisation’s coordinator R. Mohanasundaram, over 900 farmers from various parts of the district observed fast from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mr. Mohanasundaram said that the four-lane Salem–Ulundurpet National Highway was not a busy stretch, and the road could be widened, if necessary. Though land was acquired for a four-lane project, 30 km of the road was still a two-lane stretch. It should be widened if traffic volume was on the rise, he said.

Only one flight was being operated to the Salem airport as the patronage was not encouraging. Such being the case, the government was keen on acquiring 750 acres of farmland for airport expansion. “The expansion is to help companies import machines for their industries,” he said.

‘Govt. not listening’

Mr. Mohanasundaram said the State government was not ready to listen to the problems faced by the farmers or address them. “It is to appease the corporates that the project is being proposed and land grabbed from the farmers,” he alleged.

He said the district co-ordinators of the movement would meet in the next couple of days to decide the next course of action.