On Sunday, September 4, a seven-member committee, chaired by GK Mani honorary president of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), visited Parandur and its neighbouring villages to understand the grievances of residents who are opposing the proposed second airport for Chennai. The state government has earmarked 13 villages in the Kancheepuram district for Chennai's second airport. The villagers have been raising concerns over losing their ancestral lands, houses, and livelihood and have opposed the plan to build the second airport in Parandur. Political parties and social activists have been frequenting the Parandur villages.
A seven-member committee was announced by PMK party president Anbumani Ramadoss on August 25 after he met the residents of Parandur in Kancheepuram. A day after his meeting with Parandur residents, Naam Thamizhar Katchi (NTK) chief, Seeman too visited Parandur villages on August 26 to obtain views from the public. After interacting with people, he told media persons that his party will intensify the protests against the state government if it continues the airport project.
On Sunday, PMK’s GK Mani and other committee members visited Parandur, Eganapuram, Mangalam, and other villages to note down the public opinion on this matter. While talking to the media, GK Mani said that the report will be submitted to the state government soon.
Along with GK Mani, AK Moorthy (former Union Minister of State for Railways), Thilagabama(Treasurer of PMK), Mahesh Kumar ( Kancheepuram west district's party secretary), Umapathy, Sakthi Kamalammal (former MLA) also met the people of Parandur. A seven-members team visited the Parandur at a time when police personnel tightened security in all 13 villages and the entry points to the villages and new outposts and checkpoints were erected and the police patrolling in the villages increased.
On the same day, police detained PR Pandian, the president of Tamil Nadu Federation of All Farmers' Association, and his aides who were on the way to visit Parandur. PR Pandian alleged that police manhandled them even though they gave prior information to the police department about their visit to the villages via an online application. Fear of looming large protests, Kancheepuram district police invoked Section 30(2) of the Police Act from August 24 to the next 15 days. (Under this law, one requires permission from the police to organise any gatherings or hold a protest). It is to be noted that police detained two activists Palaniappan and Gunasekhara Dharmaraja, belonging to Movement Against 8-Lane Way and 50 Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) cadres and took them into preventive custody after they tried to enter Parandur.
Watch: Chennai second airport: Security stepped up at Parandur