Parandur boycott: Out of 1,479, only 13 cast vote
CHENNAI: The villagers of Parandur, who have been protesting against the construction of the new greenfield airport, boycotted the parliamentary elections. The government officials who had gone to Parandur seeking the villagers to participate in the elections were gheraoed by the villagers.
The villagers had announced earlier that they would boycott the elections if their demands were not met. A few days ago Kancheepuram district collector visited the village and held talks with the villagers, but they refused to budge.
On Friday the villagers surrounded the Sriperumbudur tahsildar, Sundaramurthy, and protested, saying, “We will not give up our demands. You are trying to force us to vote, but we will not let you do so.” The villagers also blocked the officials from entering their homes. The officials tried to persuade the villagers to vote, but they refused. The villagers then chased the officials out of their area, causing a commotion in the Parandur area.
The villagers were protesting against the construction of the new green airport, which they said would affect their agricultural lands and water sources. They had also announced that they would boycott the elections if their demands were not met. The officials tried to persuade them to vote, but they refused, leading to a standoff.
In the end, out of the total 1,479 only 13 votes were cast at the two polling stations in the village, and all of them were from government service. The villagers had successfully boycotted the elections, sources said.