By IANS,
New Delhi : Social activist Medha Patkar Monday expressed her full support for the farmers agitation against land acquisition in Uttar Pradesh, saying that the government is only interested in serving “private purposes”.
“We will be joining the movement tonight or tomorrow evening in Noida,” Patkar said here.
“Land acquisition is just a move to serve private purposes by diverting agricultural land for industrial purposes. Rights of the rural people are sacrificed in the name of development and political parties simply play over it,” Patkar said.
The farmers are demanding increased financial compensation for the land they claim has been forcibly taken away from them to build the 165-km Yamuna Expressway between New Delhi and Agra, that is expected to cut travelling time by an hour.
“This is yet another challenge for the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government. If people can protest against corruption, they can also raise their voice against looting of natural resources,” she added.
Patkar said that the details of the project, its impact, displacement caused, and compensation given to the farmers should be brought into public domain for transparency.
The farmers’s agitation, which turned violent and led to the killing of four people during an exchange of gun fire in Greater Noida Saturday, has since spread to Agra also.