GREATER NOIDA: Even as
residents in highrises are taking out candle marches and signing petitions,
villagers have taken a much harder stance in the ongoing battle to stop work at the
waste plant site in
Sector 123.
Dharampal Pradhan, 50, a resident of Garhi Chaukhandi village, barely 1 km from the site, and Omveer Yadav (30) from Behlolpur village are on a hunger
strike at Luksar jail in Greater Noida since their arrest, along with 24 others on Monday, following violent clashes with the police while protesting against the dump site.
Dharampal, a small farmer, was in good spirits when his nephew Gyanendra went to meet him in the jail on Thursday. “He told me not to bring him any food and that he will die with
hunger strike as a mark of
protest against the waste plant site. He said he will not let the waste plant come up in front of our home,” Yadav told TOI.
In fact, Dharampal, who has two sons and a married daughter, stands to lose the maximum from the Sector 123 site as his village is merely 1 km from there. “Our daily life is going to be a living hell and authorities are busy bulldozing us with no care for our health. Is this the Swachh Bharat that Prime Minister Modi envisioned or wants? He should come and see what his government is doing against innocent people,” he told his nephew. Coming from a farmer’s family from Behlolpur near FNG corridor, Omveer Yadav, a 30-year-old district Youth Congress worker, is married and has a 12 -year-old son. He has not met his family since Monday, except some relatives who went to check on him at Luksar jail on Thursday.
“We continue our hunger strike but we won’t let the waste plant come up,” Omveer told Jaiveer when he went to meet his brother in jail.
Omveer, who is lodged in jail like others, is on hunger strike in protest against what they call is ‘wrongful detention’ and as a mark of continued protest against the waste plant site. “He is strong and willing to stick it out for as long as it takes,” Jaiveer said.
Meanwhile, a meeting called by district magistrate BN Singh to address issues of those arrested on June 4 while protesting against the site, was boycotted by villagers of Parthala, Garhi Chaukhandi, Sorkha, Sarfabad and Behlolpur.
Villagers under the banner of Kooda Ghar Virodh Sangharsh Samiti gathered at Parthala community centre on Thursday morning and decided to boycott the meeting with DM saying they have not received the DM's letter. “We have boycotted the meeting as we intend to carry out peaceful protest against the plant site,” said Subey Yadav from Parthala.
When contacted, the district magistrate said, “A group of residents had protested against the development work, which is in accordance with the NGT order. We decided to call a meeting and discuss the issue. They did not come for the meeting. We will make sure the development work is peaceful and no one takes law and order in their own hands.”
