If EPS is the enemy, Stalin is a betrayer to farmers: People opposing Salem-Chennai 8-lane expressway

‘Stalin is a betrayer’

Returning home for lunch from his agricultural field in Naraiyur village of Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu, 45-year-old Vinayagam expressed his anguish and told South First that EPS was the enemy, but the current Chief Minister MK Stalin is the betrayer of farmers.

He is one of the farmers on the outskirts of the Tiruvannamalai district, in which the government had marked agricultural lands for the construction of the Salem-Chennai eight-way lane.

Since 2018, locals from the Salem, Tiruvannamalai, Kanchipuram, Krishnagiri, and Dharmapuri districts have protested against the land acquisition process.

Vinayagam has undergone teacher training, and holds an MA and BEd. However, he works on his agricultural land in his parent’s footsteps. He cultivates peanuts, cane, and rice on seven acres of land.

“Even though I have a degree and can work in the private sector, I chose to be a farmer. I work in the field, satisfying me, rather than working under someone. I can employ 200 members on my farmland each year with the income,” he said.

Almost all the farmers in the five districts believe the proposed project would be of no benefit to them.

Their fresh agitation and anguish stem from the comments of EV Velu.

What did the minister say? 

Last week, the minister, while talking to reports about land acquisition for constructing a new airport at Parantur in the Kanchipuram district, said, “The DMK did not oppose the construction of eight-lane expressway. The DMK has never said that the expressway should not be built unless it was the DMK’s policy to call the farmers and understand their needs, solve the problem and build the road, or find an alternative route.”

However, the DMK’s Mouthpiece Murasoli stated that MK Stalin opposed the move in 2018. Even Stalin had this to say in his Assembly election promises. His statement is available here: MURASOLI::முரசொலி.

Velu’s speech sparked strong opposition from the farmers who fought against the scheme in 2018.

‘Stalin turned against us’

Arun, the convener of Movement Against Eight-Lane Expressway, told South First that the silence of Stalin, even after the agitation and protest with black flags, spoke volumes.

Farmers in Tiruvannamalai and the other districts protested against Velu’s speech and demanded clarification from the chief minister.

“The DMK opposed the project along with us and said it wouldn’t allow it at any cost. But now the party itself has turned against us. Stalin betrayed farmers and used us for our votes,” said Arun.

The people in these five districts went on a door-to-door campaign for DMK for the last Assembly election.

“We believed the DMK would help us protect our lands and rights, so we went on a door-to-door campaign for the last Assembly election, requesting people in our districts to vote for the party. We even stuck wall posters in our villages seeking votes for the DMK. But now their actions are against us,” he said.

The estimated cost to complete the 277.3-km Chennai-Salem eight-lane expressway is ₹10,000 crore under the Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP).

Survey stones were already placed on most of our lands during the AIADMK period. However, we removed all of them, Arun added.

Thousands of coconut trees under threat?

“The land acquisition plan for the proposed project marks our lands too. If it is implemented, we will lose our lands and house. Almost 6,000 coconut trees will be cut,” Chitra, a farmer from Poolavari in the Salem district, told South First.

Chitra has six acres of land on which she grows nearly 500 coconut trees.

Among other villagers, she joined the protest held on 30 August demanding that the DMK government issue a statement clarifying its stand on the eight-lane expressway project.

“What is the DMK up to? It was with us when it was in the Opposition, but now it is against us. We won’t give our land to the government for the project,” she said.

“Nobody except us would understand the feeling of losing the land. We have been growing coconut trees on our land for decades, and this is our only source of income. Growing trees is like raising a child. To cut them away for the construction of roads is like killing a child,” Chitra told South First.

She said as many as 100 families in the village would be affected if the government implemented the project.

Minister’s explanation

Minister EV Velu told reporters on Wednesday, 31 August, that the DMK was not the enemy when it came to the Salem-Chennai eight-lane expressway project.

He added that the roads should be widened when the traffic increases.

“It is the Union government’s project, and I have not said anywhere that we wanted the project,” he said.

“There is no opposition or support for this project. The Tamil Nadu government will announce whether the project will be implemented or not,” he said.