Two activists, Palaniappan and Gunasekharan Dharmaraja, were detained by Kancheepuram police on Tuesday, February 28. They were visiting Parandur where protests against the proposed second airport for Chennai have been ongoing for over 200 days. Palaniappan is the coordinator of the Movement against Eight Lane Way, while Gunasekharan is the coordinator of Jai Kisan Andolan. This is the second time the duo have been detained by Kancheepuram police.
"We went to Parandur to meet farmers upon their invitation and held a discussion with them. We were detained in the early hours' of March 1 on our way back to catch the bus to Chennai. Many activists will come and visit Parandur frequenly if police resort to such illegal restraints," the activists told TNM.
It is to be noted that this is the second time the duo got detained by the Kancheepuram police after the announcement of Parandur Greenfield airport in August, last year. During the previous detention, Gunasekharan was allegedly manhandled by the police when he tried to inform his family members and lawyers about his detention.
Protests against the Parandur airport have been ongoing for over 200 days, with activists and local residents opposing the airport's construction due to concerns about the environmental impact and displacement of farmers in the area.
On February 11, the 200th day of the protest, there was heightened police presence in Parandur, with over 1,200 police deployed and more than 10 checkposts set up. Advocate Vetriselvan was detained by Kancheepuram police while on his way to the protest site from Chennai, but was later released in the afternoon. The protest was chaired by a political leader from the DMK alliance, and around 1,500 people participated in the protest in Ambedkar ground at Eganapuram village.
Village residents, who are conducting evening protests, have announced that Medha Patkar, a social activist, will be a part of a 212th-day protest on March 2, in Parandur and she is likely to inspect the villages and meet the villagers.