Vijay meets villagers protesting against Chennai’s second airport at Parandur; takes aim at DMK

Several farmers and children held bunches of paddy crop in their hands as they waited for Vijay to arrive, and one of them handed it over to him after he addressed the gathering.

Chennai: In his first political outing after formally launching his Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) in October last year, actor-politician Vijay on Monday met villagers protesting against the greenfield airport for Chennai in Parandur and launched a scathing attack on the DMK by accusing it of “speaking in different voices” as an opposition and ruling party. 

Vijay made it clear that he was not against a new airport for Chennai but was only opposing acquiring fertile farm lands for the project, which is likely to be in an area of 5,746 acres at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore. 

He also suspected that there was “some gain” for the ruling party from the airport project, for which the government will acquire 3,700 acres as it owns the remaining 1,917 acres of land in Parandur, Ekanapuram, and surrounding villages that will play host to the airport. 

The project ran into rough weather in August 2022 immediately after the DMK dispensation chose Parandur as the location for a greenfield airport for Chennai, whose current facility in Meenambakkam is struggling to meet the ever-growing travellers and their needs.

Apart from acquiring farm lands, environmentalists warn that going ahead with the project would lead to hydro ecological problems and flooding in the new facility, which will be built by destroying dozens of water bodies.

“I am happy that Parandur has become the place where I have begun my field work,” Vijay declared from an open van in Parandur as his visit was highly regulated by the people who didn’t allow him to visit the site where villagers have been protesting against the project for the past 910 days. 

Vijay, who received a bunch of paddy crop from a farmer, asserted that he would oppose the airport project in Parandur “tooth and nail” and gave an assurance to the protesters that he would stand by them till the end. 

“I am not against the project. What I am opposing is building an airport by destroying farm lands. Only a government that is anti-people will bring a project by displacing farmers. My appeal to the Union and state governments is to reconsider the airport in Parandur,” Vijay said. 

The actor also utilised the opportunity to take a dig at the DMK, which he has identified as his party’s “political enemy”, by seeking to know why the party changes its stance on development projects once it is back in the saddle after being in opposition. 

“You opposed the Chennai-Salem Expressway as an opposition party, but you are actively pushing for an airport for Chennai. Why this double standard? Shouldn’t you stand with the farmers like you stood with them then? You support farmers while in Opposition and oppose them after becoming the ruling party. People won’t believe your drama,” he added. 

Questioning the DMK government for opposing the tungsten mining block in Madurai district but moving ahead with the airport project by acquiring land, Vijay sought to know the reason behind the ruling party’s “double standards.” 

“I welcome the stand that you have taken on tungsten mining. But why don’t you take the same stand on the airport project too. If you are insistent on this, it only means you have some gain from the project,” Vijay alleged.

Vijay's opposition likely to give leverage to TVK

Vijay’s opposition is likely to give leverage to TVK which is one of the very few parties to speak against the project with principal Opposition AIADMK and BJP supporting the new airport. 

The assurances by the government that it will provide 3.5 times the market rate as compensation besides an alternate land for housing and a government job for each family affected by the land acquisition for the airport have also not moved the protestors.

Vijay’s visit comes even as Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu made a passionate case for the airport terming it as the “need of the hour” with Chennai already losing out to expansive aerodromes in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. 

Acknowledged issues raised by opposing villagers, Thenarasu said their concerns will be addressed and taken care of. The government has also assured the villagers that steps will be taken to “preserve the flow of water” and ensure that the water drains naturally so as to prevent any flooding at the new facility. 

The government constituted a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) who have given suggestions to ensure natural flow of water. 

The new airport will have two runways, multiple terminal buildings, taxiways, aprons, and cargo terminal among other infrastructure. It is being built to handle about 10 crore passengers a year. 

Though the number of flights and the daily footfall have increased manifold over the years, the city is bereft of a swanky airport like the ones Bengaluru and Hyderabad boast of. The AAI has been expanding the terminal buildings in the existing airport to cater to the ever-increasing rush but a new airport is long overdue.