CITIZENS PROTEST: Residents join CPI (M) members in a procession organised in Tambaram on Monday to protest against the proposed acquisition of land off Pallavaram for the airport modernisation programme. — Photo; A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM: Braving the pre-summer heat, hundreds of residents, including many women, took part in a procession organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday at Chromepet to protest against the proposed acquisition of 583 hectares of land for the Chennai airport modernisation programme.

The procession began near the Madras Institute of Technology, Chromepet, and ended at the Tambaram Taluk office.

Residents and members of the CPI(M) said they welcomed and supported any development activity — be it provision of basic amenities or even airport improvement — but were only protesting against the unilateral manner in which it was decided to acquire land. The move would displace several thousand families. They presented a petition to the Tambaram tahsildar and urged him to forward it to the authorities concerned.

The residents and CPI(M) partymen carried placards urging the Central and State Governments not to expand the airport at the cost of the livelihood of a large number of people. If expansion was the only option for airport development, then vacant land should be used.

S. Narasimhan, CPI(M) councillor of Pallavaram Municipality, said such massive programmes were a result of the ill-effects of globalisation and liberalisation that was taking a severe toll on economy. R. Viswanathan, K. Bhima Rao, R. Krishnamuthy and S. Janardhanam, CPI(M) members, also spoke and asked the residents to be wary of efforts by some sections who might attempt to split the movement.

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