Farmers refuse to end protest in Noida despite repeated requests

On Thursday night, Meerut division commissioner Surendra Singh and Noida authority chief executive officer Ritu Maheshwari held a meeting with a 10-member farmers’ delegation in Sector 6 and requested them to end the agitation as their issues are being addressed

The farmers protesting against the Noida authority refused to end their agitation on Friday, even as senior government officials assured them that their demands are being looked into.

Farmers continued their protest outside the Noida authority office at Sector 6 on Friday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT)

The farmers have been protesting for the last two and half months outside the Noida authority’s main administrative building located in Sector 6, seeking hiked compensation for their land acquired for the development, 1,000 square metres residential plot, and changes in building regulations in villages, among others.

On Thursday night, Meerut division commissioner Surendra Singh and Noida authority chief executive officer Ritu Maheshwari held a meeting with a 10-member farmers’ delegation in Sector 6 and requested them to end the agitation as their issues are being addressed.

“We have sent the farmers’ demands to the state government which will take a decision as per the law,” said Maheshwari, CEO, Noida authority.

However, the agitating farmers have refused to vacate the protest site.

“They (authority officials) said the state government will look into our demands and take appropriate action. But we do not trust officials of the Noida authority because they keep changing their stands on our demands. We have decided that our agitation will end only after the authority accepts our demands and takes necessary action in a board meeting,” said Sukhbir Yadav, founder president of Bharatiya Kisan Parishad that is leading the protest.