Chennai: The AIADMK would launch an agitation if the DMK government went ahead with its plans to set up an industrial estate in Thittakudi taluk in Cuddalore district by acquiring 500 acres of high yield agriculture land in Pullur, Thondankurichi and Avati villages, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said.
Recalling the earlier incident in which farmers who protested against the SIDCO industrial estate at Cheyyar in Tiruvannamalai district were booked under the Goondas Act, Palaniswami, in a statement on Thursday, warned of his party joining hands with the farmers of Thittakudi in the opposition to the new project if the government did not accede to their demands to not take over their land.
The farmers through their sweat and blood had converted the once fallow land in the three villages that now had 50 wells with electricity connection for the pump sets but the government suddenly wanted to acquire those agriculture land though there were three other industrial parks around the present site.
The industrial park at Vilambavur in Veppur taluk was just 10 km away, while the one at Irayur in Perambalur district was 25 km away and the one at Asanur in Kallakurichi district was 15 km away, he said, adding that the people felt that developing the industrial estate at Vilambavur to function at its full capacity would be a better idea than constructing a new one.
Palaniswami alleged that the local MLA and State Minister C V Ganesan had set its eyes on acquiring the agricultural land only with a view to harassing the farmers of the region. The frequent visit of officials to the region to take land surveys had led to panic among the people as they feared losing the land that they had nurtured over the years.
