As part of their protest against the proposed second airport for Chennai in Parandur, residents of several villages in the Kancheepuram district did not send their children to school on September 23, Friday. Parandur and 12 other neighbouring villages have been earmarked for the proposed airport, in the wake of which villagers have been protesting for nearly two months, urging the government to shift the location of the project.
For a while now, students in the primary and elementary schools in the region have also been participating in daily ‘evening protests’ at the Eganapuram panchayat, after returning from school. It was at this evening protest on Thursday, which marked the 58th day of the agitation, that the decision to boycott schools was also made unanimously. With nearly 133 students of various grades absent from their classes, visuals showed schools wearing a deserted look on Friday.
Watch: Chennai second airport: Security stepped up at Parandur
According to local sources, it’s the parents from Eganapuram, Nelvoi, Meleri and Nagapattu villages who are primarily refusing to send their kids to schools, despite the quarterly exams being underway. “Students from Parandur are going to school everyday. But parents of several other villages are not sending their kids to school as a part of their protests,” said Nila Prakasam, a resident of Parandur village.
Speaking to TNM, an Eganapuram resident said they were planning to intensify their protest if the government continued to ignore their demands. “We conducted a hunger strike on the 54th day of protest, September 18, to show our opposition. It was after this that we decided to boycott schools on the 58th day, and informed the school management on the same evening,” he said.
“An Assistant Education Officer (AEO) had subsequently held a meeting with the parents, expressing concern that this protest would impact the future of the students. But what is the point of pursuing education, if we are about to lose our livelihood and be evacuated from the land that was given to us by our ancestors,” the villager asked.
Despite security being beefed up at the entrance of these villages, the villagers in the region have been conducting a series of protests against the airport. More police checkpoints have been set up to monitor what is happening inside the village and who are visiting the residents. Besides, many politicians and social activists were also denied entry to Parandur, detained while on their way to reach the people. Yet, everyday, nearly 700 to 900 residents gather together in the evening, from 7 pm to 9 pm, to protest against the project.
Watch: Is it hypocritical to support Iran's anti-hijab and Karnataka's pro-hijab protests?