NOIDA: With the Noida authority refusing to give a ‘written assurance’ that illegal buildings in urban villages will not be demolished, farmers have decided to continue their ongoing protest.
Farmers from Yakubpur have been protesting against the demolition of illegal buildings for the past one month, while another group from Garhi Chaukhandi was on a sit-in protest for the last three days. Both groups are adamant about continuing their stir until the authority gives in.
The authority, however, said it was demolishing only illegal buildings. “We are not touching any abadi (houses) of farmers. We are acting against illegal commercial buildings constructed on government land,” Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer, Noida authority, said.
She held a meeting on Friday with a delegation of farmers, led by Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait.
The CEO called farmers for a meeting around 7pm after they staged a huge protest outside the administrative building in Sector 6 on Friday. She formed a committee comprising authority officials and those from the Gautam Budh Nagar administration to look into the issue.
“The committee will meet farmers and address their grievances. We will take decisions as per rules. We have decided to call a meeting with farmers on the second Tuesday of every month, so that farmers can air their grievances,” Maheshwari said.
Farmers from BKU and Bharatiya Yuva Nirman Sangathan started gathering before the Sector 6 office at 9am Friday riding on tractors, motorbikes and in cars. Some of them even bought along their cattle. They returned to their villages only by late evening. Their protest led to snarls on the DND Flyway and Udyog Marg, where the authority office is located. Congestion on Udyog Marg continued the whole day and the DND Flyway witnessed congestion for about an hour, from 9 am to 10 am.
{{/usCountry}}Farmers from BKU and Bharatiya Yuva Nirman Sangathan started gathering before the Sector 6 office at 9am Friday riding on tractors, motorbikes and in cars. Some of them even bought along their cattle. They returned to their villages only by late evening. Their protest led to snarls on the DND Flyway and Udyog Marg, where the authority office is located. Congestion on Udyog Marg continued the whole day and the DND Flyway witnessed congestion for about an hour, from 9 am to 10 am.
{{/usCountry}}Farmers have been protesting at the Sector 121 and village Yakubpur sites after the authority started its demolition drive. “The authority did not give us in writing that they will not touch our houses. We want a written assurance. Until it does so, we will continue our agitation,” Sukhbeer Yadav, a leader of the Bharatiya Yuva Nirman Sangathan, said.