Greater Noida continues to be tense after clash

Greater Noida, near the national capital, continued to be tense today following yesterday’s bloody clashes between police and land owners, which have claimed four lives, including two security personnel.

The issue of land acquisition and compensation has once again boiled in Uttar Pradesh with the epicentre of conflagration being Greater Noida in Gautam Buddha Nagar district.

The trouble started when police and district administration officials reached Bhatta Parsaul village in the same district, to ‘rescue’ state roadways staff taken ‘hostage’ by the agitating villagers since May 6.

The farmers had been demanding compensation according to market rates for their land being acquired by the state government for various infrastructure projects. In the ensuing clashes, several senior officials were wounded, including district magistrate Deepak Aggarwal and senior cops.

Meanwhile, prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been clamped in the district and the village turned into a virtual fortress with heavy police deployment.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Ajit Singh was also taken into custody today, when he tried to visit the village and meet the farmers. Several of the farmers have fled their village fearing police action.

According to reports, the work on Yamuna Expressway had also come to a halt, while the concessionaire of expressway, Jaypee Associates have denied, the trouble was related to any of their ongoing projects.

The farmers’ agitation had also spread to Agra and Aligarh, which had seen similar agitations last year on the compensation issue. In September 2010, the state government was forced to implement a new policy for land acquisition and rehabilitation due to protests from land owners alleging forceful acquisition and paltry compensation paid for their land for Yamuna Expressway.

Meanwhile, the state government had announced a reward of Rs 50,000 on farmers’ leader Manvir Singh Tewatiya. According to police, he was the main instigator of violence and was absconding.

The situation continues to be tense in Greater Noida with senior state government officials keeping a close tab on the situation.

Opposition parties, including Samajwadi Party, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party have squarely blamed the Mayawati government for the clashes.