By: Khaleel Ul Rehman
NOIDA: Hundreds of people from residential societies and nearby villages organised a mega protest on Sunday against the construction of a dumping yard at
Sector 123 in Noida. They blamed Noida Authority of violating the rules by building a landfill site in a residential area.
Protesters also shouted slogans against the
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and BJP MP Mahesh Sharma for not addressing their grievances. Residents of Parthala, Garhi Chaukhandi, Sorkha, Sarfabad and Behlolpur villages threatened that they would vote the BJP out of power if construction work is not stopped immediately.
Puneet Kohli, a resident of Gaur City, said, "We will continue our protest until the Noida Authority doesn't stop its work at the proposed dump yard. And I am surprised how a landfill site can be built a stone's throw away from a residential colony."
Protesters also blamed some local leaders of
Samajwadi Party of politicising the issue. "Some local SP leaders are trying to hijack our protest. We are not gathered here to protest against any political partym but dump yard. So, their (SP leaders) bid can ruin our unity and struggle."
Residents are also planning to file a petition in the Supreme Court and approach the National Green Tribunal (NGT). "Apart from protest, we are also working on plan B. First, we will approach the NGT, because the Noida Authority has misinformed it about the dump yard. After that, will file a petition in Supreme Court."
Recently, the NGT had issued an interim order directing the Noida Authority to immediately stop dumping waste at a forest land located in Sector 54. Following the order, a dumping ground is being built at Sector 123.
Locals claim that the site is just only the 176 metres away from the residential area, which will create health issues in near future. Second, the
Hindon Air Force Station is only at an aerial distance of 12 Km from the site while the dumping yard is permissible only after 20 km.
Earlier, police had arrested several protesters, who were released on bail later. Section 144 was also imposed to stop the gathering at the controversial site, but the people defied the police order and staged a huge protest.
