Amid prevailing tensions between India and Pakistan, nighttime protests against the proposed Chennai Greenfield Airport project in Ekanapuram have been temporarily suspended, according to a statement released by the protesting body on Saturday. Ekanapuram villagers protested for 1,019 days - from August 2022 till May 9, 2025.
Talking to TNIE on Monday, G Subramanian, Secretary of the Villagers Against Parandur Airport Movement, said that the collective had decided to pause protests following India’s armed assault on Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
He noted that since the Centre’s focus at present is on the precarious situation at the border, the daily protests would go unnoticed. He then added, “Now that a ceasefire has been announced, we will gauge the situation for a week and then resume our protest.”
Development or disaster?
Ekanapuram is among the larger villages to be affected by the airport project, with over 900 acres notified for development. Surrounded by brimming canals and blooming lakes, the village enjoys year-long access to irrigation, a fact easily verified by a visit to the lush paddy fields there.
According to the airport plan available in public domain, two runways had been planned to be built upon Ekanapuram village and neighbouring water bodies. The development will wipe out the village, it is a disaster for us, residents said.
Responding to a question whether the protests have been permanently stopped, Subramanian said with determination, “We might even give up our lives, we will not give up on our land.”
Dream project
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin announced the airport project in a press release dated August 2, 2022. Planned to be the second airport in Chennai, the Parandur airport is expected to function alongside the existing international airport at Meenambakkam to improve passenger capacity.
Over 2,172 hectares of land, including 1963 hectares of fertile irrigated land, spread across 20 villages has been earmarked for greenfield development.
The airport was one of several grand infrastructural projects announced by the CM in pursuit of a ‘one-trillion-dollar economy.’ If implemented, the airport will rival Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in size.
Remaining optimistic in uncertain times
On April 9, 2025, the Union government granted in-principle approval for the airport project. The approval, however, has done little to dampen the spirits of protesters. Subramanian observed that the government is yet to conduct environmental impact assessment and initiate land acquisition, two crucial processes to be completed before the project can commence. He said, though land acquisition notices were issued in August and September of 2024, no new notifications have been issued since landowners submitted their objection petitions in September and October, respectively.
Persisting public resistance and departmental delays have cast a shadow of doubt over the taking off of the much anticipated airport project. Progressing at a snail’s pace, Phase-I construction may not begin as per schedule in January 2026.
