COIMBATORE: As a mark of protest against the Eastern Bypass project in Coimbatore farmers from the region will observe a day-long hunger strike in Kittampalayam on Sunday.
Farmers say the project threatens fertile land, hundreds of borewells, and even coconut groves. They insist that the scale of land loss and damage to irrigation sources will severely undermine their livelihoods.
The planned bypass is slated to run from Semmipalayam on the Coimbatore-Trichy road, stretching to Mathampalayam on Mettupalayam Road. It will cut through several agricultural holdings in Kitampalayam and adjacent villages.
The fasting protest starts at dawn in Kittampalayam and is expected to draw significant participation from farming communities across the affected localities.
The protest is organised under the banners of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association and the Association of Those Affected by the Eastern Bypass.
Leading the hunger strike is Esan Murugasamy, founder of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Protection Association.
Among other prominent attendees expected are Shanmugasundaram, Sellamuthu (state president of Uzhavar Uzhaipalar Party), Shanmugam (State President, Non-Party Tamil Nadu Farmers' Union), district leaders including Palanisamy and Ravathur Ganeshan.
Farmers' associations have demanded that the government abandon the bypass project entirely, or at least revise it so that no agricultural land is acquired and alternative routes or widening of existing roads are considered instead. They argue that the project will harm not only their economic welfare but also the environment.
Meanwhile, officials have cited traffic decongestion and improved connectivity as key motivations for the bypass. But with land acquisition processes already underway in sections, farmers and local residents feel their voices have not been adequately consulted.