Ghaziabad, Feb 20 (PTI) A nearly two-hour meeting between district authorities and protesting farmers, along with leaders of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), failed to yield any breakthrough on Friday.
The meeting, held in the afternoon, was attended by District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar, Police Commissioner J Ravinder Goud, Municipal Commissioner Vikramaditya Malik and other officials.
Villagers remained firm on their demand for the removal of the dumping ground in Meerpur Hindu village of Loni.
A key protest leader, who has been named in an FIR along with Monu, Umesh, Ravindra Tyagi, Chetan and over a hundred unidentified villagers, told PTI that the peaceful agitation would continue for an indefinite period.
The protesters also announced that a mahapanchayat will be organised on March 1 with support from the BKU, in which residents of 16 villages are expected to participate. BKU leader Rakesh Tikait will address the gathering.
Villagers alleged that despite the village being adopted by Union minister VK Singh in 2014, the groundwater in the area remains contaminated. They further claimed that a specialised plant installed to extract drinking water from atmospheric moisture has not functioned even for a single day.
Protesters said trust cannot be built on “hollow promises” and demanded immediate resolution of the landfill issue.
BKU state organising secretary Praveen Malik told officials during the meeting that the union would act in accordance with the demands of the local residents. PTI COR KIS NB NB
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