Eknapuram Residents Seek ‘Thalapathi Vijay Road’ as Airport Plans Stall

During a Gram Sabha convened on August 15 in Eknapuram, Kanchipuram, villagers voted unanimously to thank Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay for opposing the contentious Parandur greenfield airport. The resolution also appealed to the state government to christen the village’s main lane “Thalapathi Vijay Road”.

The airport, proposed in 2022, would occupy around 5,000 acres of land across Parandur and adjacent villages, targeting fertile fields, residential districts and local watercourses. Since the project’s announcement, the community has endured more than 1,100 days of protests, including sixteen Gram Sabha votes against the plan and a boycott of seven meetings to register dissent.

Although the central and state machinery have continued with land‑acquisition formalities, Vijay’s personal visit to the protest site on 20 January 2025, where he pledged to cancel the airport after becoming chief minister, has revived hopes. With his party now forming the government, residents anticipate a swift policy reversal and the official renaming of the village road.