Villagers from G Noida protest for civic amenities
NOIDA: A group of villagers on Monday protested against the Greater Noida authority demanding better civic amenities in urban villages. They alleged that the authority has been ignoring complaints of civic mess that prevail in villages located next to urban sectors.
The villagers, under the banner of “corruption free India”, organised a march to the Greater Noida authority’s main administrative building in sector Knowledge Park-iv.
They protesting villagers shouted slogans against the authority and the state government.
They ended their protest after handing over a letter of demands to the Greater Noida authority’s officer on special duty Shiv Pratap Shukla.
“In all villages of Greater Noida, including Junaidpur, Ladpura, Tugalpur, Nevada and Kacheda, among others, all drains are choked, there is no drinking water supply and the roads are in bad state. We want to know why the authority is ignoring civic services in urban villages, where life is a mess,” said Praveen Bharatiya, founder of the organisation.
They said that if the authority does not decide on their demands in the next one week then they will intensify their protests.
They said that despite farmers giving up their land for housing, infrastructure and industrial projects. However, the authority kept ignoring the need for basic civic amenities for villages.
“We have asked officials to visit villages and see that there are street lights, no sewer lines, no drinking water supply or other basic facilities. For how long will the authority continue to ignore the demands of farmers living in miserable conditions,” said Alok Nagar, a founder member of the organisation.
Protesters added that the community centres in villages are in pathetic condition.
“The authority talks about making villages smart. However, in reality the villages do not even have the basic services,” said Dinesh Nagar.
The Greater Noida authority said that it will address the issues raised.
“We will look into their demands and take appropriate decisions. We will conduct inspection in villages and act to address the issues raised. We want to provide facilities in villages at par with sectors,” said Deep Chandar, additional chief executive officer of the Greater Noida authority.