A cross-section of residents, farmers and members of the South India Sugarcane Growers Association organised a one-day demonstration on the Melma Koot Road near Cheyyar town in Tiruvannamalai on Tuesday in support of the proposed phase-III project expansion of SIPCOT.
This demonstration in support of the project comes against the backdrop of recent protests by a cross-section of people objecting to the acquisition of land for expansion proposal.
A farmer S. Mariappan, claimed many residents from the nine villages identified for the land acquisition participated in the demonstration in support of the project as it would provide jobs to educated rural youth and help improve infrastructure facilities in areas around Cheyyar. “Such industrial projects will also help in the creation of indirect employment for locals. Internal migration like relocation of families of those who will be employed in the new unit will also help in bringing basic facilities to areas around Cheyyar town,” he said.
Last week, a two-wheeler rally was organised by a section of youngsters from the nine villages in support of the proposed project. As part of its proposed phase-III project, SIPCOT has identified 3,174 acres of land, covering nine villages — Melma, Narmapallam, Kurumbur, Thethurai, Nedungal, Vada Alapirandan, Veerapakkam, Lianeerkundram and Athi — that comes under Anakavoor panchayat union of Cheyyar sub-division in Tiruvannamalai.
