Farmers, residents, and traders who will be affected by the proposed Sathyamangalam bypass in Coimbatore district have appealed to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to drop the proposed greenfield four-land Sathyamangalam bypass road project.
In a joint memorandum submitted to Coimbatore District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati on Monday and addressed to the Chief Minister too, the public along with the Coimbatore zone farmers protection committee, the Coimbatore zone farmers welfare association, and the Tamizhaga Vivasaigal Sangham, said that the Central government handed over the proposal to the State government in 2022 and indicated that it should decide whether the greenfield project was required.
About 800 acres of fertile land will be acquired for the project and the widened ghat road will not be used during night hours as it passes through the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve area. The road will increase human-animal conflicts, affect the environment, and lead to threats to the tiger reserve. The new road will be a toll road and will affect agriculture activity that has expanded in areas covered by the Athikadavu Avinashi Scheme that was inaugurated by the Chief Minister recently.
Almost 90% of the land owners had objected the project earlier too, they said.
The government should look at widening the existing Coimbatore-Sathyamangalam road rather than developing a new one, they added and urged the government to give up the proposed project.
Published – November 04, 2024 07:08 pm IST