5km from airport site but no jobs & infra: Voters at R&R colony

Noida: The constant din of construction at the upcoming international airport, just 5km away from their rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) colony in Jewar Bangar, is the face of BJP’s development model, but the 3,500 families relocated from the six project-affected villages say the colony is a picture of neglect. And as they cast their votes on Friday, unemployment was looming large in the minds of several voters.

Kehar Singh, a resident of Rohi village, said they were thrown into the R& R colony without proper facilities. “No one ever comes here to help us. They just vanish after seeking our votes. I have decided not to vote for the present MP. He should understand that not helping people will also not work in his favour. We were told we would be provided jobs in the upcoming airport, but nothing of that sort has happened,” he said.

The farmer families who had given up lands for the airport project were settled in Jewar Bangar by the district authorities about three years ago, with a promise that their living conditions would be far better in the new model township.

For the first phase of the airport, 1,334 hectares of land were acquired from Rohi, Nagla Phoolkhan, Nagla Ganeshi, Nagla Cheetar, Nagla Sharif Khan and Dayanatpur Kheda. The Yamuna Expressway Authority developed the township on 50 hectares at Jewar Bangar and carried out development work at a cost of Rs 300 crore in the township. State govt paid over Rs 4,300 crore in compensation to farmers for land acquired in the first phase of the project.

Kalu, a resident of Nagla Cheetar, said that work has not been completed satisfactorily. “The new neta should work for the public.” A few others said although the colony still lacked development, they were in a better position, and things would improve with time.

Sandeep Rana from Rohi village said people should think beyond their local issues in the Lok Sabha polls and vote on national issues. “I have voted on the issue of national security,” he added.

Kushal Pal Singh, another resident of Rohi, claimed there were many civic issues in the colony. “However, when it comes to voting, I cannot solely focus on these issues. Coming from a defence background, I consider national issues to be very important while voting,” Singh told TOI.

Sakshi Singh, a first-time voter from Dyantapur Kheda, said she was excited to vote for the first time but pointed out the village had not seen much development over the last few years. “Stray animals keep roaming around the colony. Also, there are not enough jobs. I am not in favour of schemes like Agniveer. But we cannot simply blame the government. We have to upgrade ourselves too for better opportunities,” she said.


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