After failed march to Delhi, Noida farmers back to sit-in protest

A day after an unsuccessful attempt to march to Parliament, protesting farmers returned to the offices of local authorities in Noida and Greater Noida for a sit-in on Friday. Led by the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), the protestors stated their intent to continue the protest and reiterated their plan to march to Delhi after the Budget Session of Parliament concludes. The previous day's march had included thousands of villagers, impacting traffic in parts of Delhi-NCR, and resulted in a meeting between the protestors' delegation and Gautam Buddh Nagar police, which yielded no resolution to their demands for increased compensation and developed plots in exchange for acquired land.

"The farmers went for the meeting which continued for two hours. However, only police officers and the district magistrate were present there. No officials of the UP government or the local authorities were there for the meeting, so nothing substantial came out of it," a BKP member told PTI.

A senior police officer, privy to the closed-door meeting, told PTI that the delegation of protestors was told to come back with a "proposal" of what they want now and accordingly the next step would be decided.


The BKP member, led by Sukhbir Yadav 'Khalifa', said all issues are known to the UP government.

"We were told during the meeting that a high-level meeting can be possible only after the Parliament and UP Vidhan Sabha, both currently in session, are over, which is likely by February 11. After that either we'll have a meeting or we'll again try to march to Parliament," he added.

Farmer groups in Noida and Greater Noida have been protesting since December 2023, with demands for greater compensation and developed plots against their lands acquired in the past by the local development authorities, which function under the UP government.