The people who were arrested on Monday have gone on an indefinite hunger strike and plan to continue with it until their demands are met.
Protests against landfill
After several protests against the upcoming landfill at Noida Sector 123, the residents and villagers of the adjoining areas boycotted a meeting scheduled with the district magistrate and the SSP of Gautam Budh Nagar on Thursday at the collectrate office in Surajpur in Greater Noida.
According to the residents, the authorities tried to force them to agree to their terms before starting any talks regarding negotiations. The people who were arrested on Monday have gone on an indefinite hunger strike and plan to continue with it until their demands are met.
The district magistrate, B.N. Singh said that law and order is his primary concern. He stated that if the residents have any issue with the landfill they should either move the National Green Tribunal (NGT) or the court but should not intervene in the work of the Noida authority.
However, the residents presented a document which clearly states that they can complain to the authority if they feel that the Sector 123 site is not suitable for dumping Noida’s waste.
A police officer said that around 12 people are on hunger strike in jail and haven’t eaten anything since Wednesday morning. He further added that some other people are having dinner only.
According to the master-plan 2031 of Noida, a recreational green area is proposed at the site where the authority is constructing a dump-yard. The protesting residents have claimed that they won’t let the authorities violate the rules.
A resident of sector 121 said, “Our sector is located at a distance of 175.25 m from the dump-yard. However, as per ‘Solid waste management rules 2016’ the dumpyard should be located at a minimum distance of 200 m from residential areas. Thus, we will try our level best and resort to peaceful protests to stop construction of the landfill.”
Residents are further complaining that they have received notices which ask them to sign an undertaking to maintain peace in the wake of protests against the dump-yard in Sector 123.
The funny part is that some of the notices have been sent to residents who are not even involved in this protest and are residing out of the country”, said a resident from sector 120.
Talking about the increasing tensions around the issue, RS Yadav, Senior Project Engineer, Noida Authority told City spidey that the local leaders are inciting residents regarding the dump-yard. He further said that the authority is using modern technology and the landfill will not deteriorate to the situation of Ghazipur or Okhla.
Rajesh Singh, a resident said, “We will explore all the options available within the legal framework to stop this illegal work as it will pose a serious threat to the health of the people living nearby.
Anupam Oberoi, a resident of Sector-121 of Noida said that the district magistrate had not sent any letter or email to anyone for the meeting. Everyone got to know about the meeting through the newspapers.
“The DM had only invited those families for the meeting whose members are behind the bars since more than four days. However, those people too abstained from the meeting", said Oberoi.
As per sources, protesters may call for a Noida bandh (shutdown) on Sunday which can also witness the participation of political groups.
