The villagers submitted a memorandum at the office, stating that if the LDA did not shift the site of the dumping ground, they will launch an agitation from November 15. The LDA had earmarked 38 hectares of land near Naubasta for the proposed dumping ground.

The villagers staged the protest under the banner of Bharatiya Gramin Dal (UP). Its president Chandra Bhan Singh Patel said, “Over 500 families live in Naubasta. It is only 100 m away from the proposed dumping ground. Two schools, a nursing home and a residential colony are located there. It will pollute the environment.”

He added that a pond located in the area has also been included in the earmarked space. “The LDA is going to dump garbage in a pond when there is a High Court ruling against damage to any natural water body,” Patel said.

Villages including Dhavaan, Chinhat, Amrai, Matiyari, Hardasikhera, Fatehapurva, Takrohi, Kanchanpur, Matiyari, Ganeshpur, Rehmanpur and other colonies developed by the government are also located near the site. Moreover, the land was fertile and agriculture was the only source of livelihood for the villagers, he said.

LDA Joint Director of Land Acquisition and Development, S B Mishra, said: “The LDA has already surveyed the area. After acquisition, we will hand it over to the Lucknow Municipal

Corporation. The land acquisition process has already been initiated.”