The blackboard on the wall of a temple at Ekanapuram village in Kancheepuram district says “300” with the message in Tamil “V ivasayam vendum, vimana nilayam vendam” (agriculture is needed and no need for airport).
To mark the 300th day of protest against the proposed airport at Parandur, residents of Ekanapuram staged a demonstration near the village lake on May 21, affirming that they are not willing to give up their homes and ancestral land.
Of the 13 villages that would be affected by the airport, Ekanapuram faces the prospect of being entirely taken over. “We will not step down even for another 300 days until the project is dropped,” said G. Subramanian, secretary of Ekanapuram Village People and Farmers Welfare Board.
