Kalpetta: Braving torrential rains and biting cold, 200-odd farmers and labourers are engaged in preparing the 350-acre paddy field cluster in Cheekkalloor, the site identified for the proposed feeder airport project in Wayanad. The farmers are working with an extra spring under their feet. For, apart from hoping for a good harvest, they will have to prove the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) wrong.
It all started with a brochure distributed by the KSIDC to promote the controversial project, after the Airports Authority of India found the site suitable for setting up a feeder airport. According to the four-page multi-colour leaflet, the paddy fields in Cheekalloor, the largest remaining paddy cluster in Wayanad, had been lying fallow for a long time.
“It is business as usual for us. Last season, farmers in Cheekkalloor had contributed over 526 tonnes of the total 2,000 tonnes of paddy the government procured from Wayanad. We want our lush, green paddy fields to drive home the message that the KSIDC leaflet was error-laden,” said Muraleedharan M S, a farmer and executive committee member of the Cheekkalloor-Eranelloor-Mechery Krishibhoomi Samrakshana Samithi, which is spearheading the agitation against the project.
19/07/13 Aadharsh/New Indian Express
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
It all started with a brochure distributed by the KSIDC to promote the controversial project, after the Airports Authority of India found the site suitable for setting up a feeder airport. According to the four-page multi-colour leaflet, the paddy fields in Cheekalloor, the largest remaining paddy cluster in Wayanad, had been lying fallow for a long time.
“It is business as usual for us. Last season, farmers in Cheekkalloor had contributed over 526 tonnes of the total 2,000 tonnes of paddy the government procured from Wayanad. We want our lush, green paddy fields to drive home the message that the KSIDC leaflet was error-laden,” said Muraleedharan M S, a farmer and executive committee member of the Cheekkalloor-Eranelloor-Mechery Krishibhoomi Samrakshana Samithi, which is spearheading the agitation against the project.
19/07/13 Aadharsh/New Indian Express
