Land block hits Calicut airport

Malappuram: The land acquisition move for the runway development of the Calicut International Airport has again been hit with the villagers deciding  not to give away their land.  

The representatives of the Kudiyozhippikkal Prathirodha Samiti (KPS) made their stand clear at  a meeting held with the deputy collector in  the office of the special tahsildar  for the land acquisition in Karipur.  

Deputy collector Abdul Rasheed  said that the land identified for the rehabilitation was inhabitable and offered to hold more talks with the  owners of the land. But  they are sceptical about the rehabilitation scheme offered by the government. 

“The authorities have not obtained the consent from the owners and  we can’t give away our land in the name of airport development,” said  Mr Chukkan Bichu, chairman of the KPS.

“Clearing an entire area of habitat consisting more than 800 houses in the name of Airport development is not acceptable for the people,” he added.

The airport needed 213 acres of land for the development of the runway and 167 acres for a terminal and other facilities. Apart from these,  the government’s plan for the rehabilitation includes 100 acres more.