Protest against Coimbatore airport expansion
Protesting the proposed move to acquire their land for Coimbatore Airport expansion, some residents of Kalapatti today laid near siege of the District collectorate here.Later, a group of residents submitted a memorandum to the District Collector, Neeraj Mittal, stating that more than 5000 members were staying in over 1500 houses in 350-acres of land which was proposed to be acquired for the Airport expansion.Besides more than 50 textile mills and engineering units, where over 2000 persons were working and other commercial establishments, the land on the Northern side of the Airport, has two schools, where over 300 students were studying, the memorandum said.The residents suggested that nearly 1000 acres of wasteland on the Eastern side of the runway could be utilised for the expansion, without troubling the residents,who are in a state of shock after hearing the proposal.
