Noida's Hindon Floodplain Residents Intensify Hunger Strike Over Power Demand

Noida: A 15-day protest in Noida's Hindon floodplain area, also known as the Pushta, has intensified, with women continuing a hunger strike for the past week demanding formal electricity connections. NDTV spoke to Bharatiya Kisan Parishad national president Sukhbir Khalifa and two women protesters at the protest site near Parthala Bridge in Sector 123.Sukhbir Khalifa said 4 lakh to 5 lakh families have been living in the Pushta Park area for the past 10 to 12 years without electricity, water or basic facilities. "There are around 45 colonies, and in some places 60 to 70 colonies, without any proper electricity arrangement," he said.Referrring to the authorities' contention that the area falls in a flood zone, Khalifa questioned why electricity could not be provided there. "High-rise buildings are located barely 100 metres from the Hindon riverbank, while we are 1.5 km away. Other flood-zone areas in Allahabad, Agra and Delhi have electricity connections." he said.He also alleged that residents were being supplied electricity throught informal means and claimed no written order has been given despite some connections being provided.Pinky, a resident of Vishnunagar in the Pustapar Colony, said she had been on hunger strike for six to seven days."There is no electricity. Solar power works only when there is sufficient sunlight and fails during rain or at night," she said. Questioning the classification of the area as a swamp or flood-prone zone, she asked who had declared it so after residents had built homes there over the years. Pinky claimed that four people had died from electrocution over the past four years while attempting to restore power supply, leaving their families without support."We are ready to install meters ourselves if the authorities provide us electricity connections," she added.Another protestor, Kanti Devi, questioned why plots had been sold in an area now being described as a swamp zone. "If it was a swamp area, the plots should never have been sold. We spent our savings on these homes and still live without fans or electricity. Solar power does not work at night," she said. "We just want electricity. We will support whoever provides it." The protesters said talks with electricity department officials had not yielded any breakthrough and that the sit-in would continue until they received a written assurance on their demand.