'Drop satellite towns, port to develop projects'

Puducherry, Mar 12: AICC general secretary V Narayansamy, MP, today urged the territorial administration to drop the proposal to set up satellite towns here and shift the Port development project to a rural area.

In a statement here, he said he had visited the proposed areas to set up satallite town and found that the places were owned by small farmers.

Acquiring the fertile land would badly hit the farmers and farm labourers and therefore the government should drop the proposal to set up satellite towns at Kombakkam, Arumparthapuram, Odeanpet and other places.

On the port development issue, Mr Narayansamy said already the villagers of Thengathittu were on agitation. Of the 400 acres required for the project, only 183 acres were in the posession of the government and the remaining would have to be acquired. This meant that the entire Thengaithittu village, would be acquired displacing hundeds of people.

Pointing out that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had advised not to acquire fertile lands for any other purpose other than agriculture, he said if the government went ahead with the project at Thengaithittu, it would be violating the orders of Mrs Gandhi.

UNI