COIMBATORE: People of SIHS Colony, whose properties have been acquired for the airport expansion project, have appealed to the government to give them at least two months' time to vacate their houses. They submitted a petition to district collector Kranthi Kumar Pati in this regard on Monday.
The residents, around 200, said the electricity department has started disconnecting the power supply to their houses to make them to vacate their houses. “For the expansion purpose, the lands earmarked for acquisition were split into 22 blocks. Our lands come under blocks 4, 5 and 7 at Sastha Nagar, Arul Murugan Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Bharathi Nagar in SIHS Colony. Around 200 houses are situated in the area. The house owners were given compensation of `6.25 lakh per cent four months ago,” said Prabhu, a resident.
“During the disbursement of the sum, we were assured that we would be given time till May, when the academic year ends for our children, to vacate. But the electricity department started disconnecting the power supply four days ago. We were not provided with any alternative places. Our children are studying in schools and colleges situated close to the area. If we vacate now, their education would be got affected,” he added.
Before submitting the petition, around 50 residents staged a protest by kneeling down at the entrance of the collectorate to highlight their demands. After hearing their demand, the collector assured the people of an appropriate decision.