By IANS,
Greater Noida : Police Monday arrested 129 farmers seeking more compensation for their land acquired for a cement plant in Greater Noida on the outskirts of the national capital after protesters turned violent.
Farmers jammed the movement of vehicles on the Grand Trunk Road at Dadri for more than five hours after the police forcefully dispersed them when they were protesting outside the Ambuja Cement plant.
Superintendent of police (SP) Surendra Verma said the police had to use force when the farmers became violent and barged in the restricted area.
“We have arrested 129 farmers for breach of peace, out of which 38 are women,” he said.
Raje Singh, who heads the farmers’ struggle committee, said the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) had acquired land in Badpura village in 2005, paying “meagre” compensation of Rs.340 per square metre.
The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority paid much more compensation in addition to other benefits of a plot and a job for the member of the affected family, he added.
The farmers of Badpura demanded the same compensation for their land as the sum awarded to farmers of Ghori Bachera but neither the government nor Ambuja Cement paid any heed to them, following which the struggle committee announced it would disrupt the work at the factory, Singh said.