Protest Over Salary Hike Turns Violent In Noida; Workers Torch Cars, Hurl Stones; Cops Fire Tear Gas To Control Crowd

Noida: A workers’ protest demanding a salary hike spiralled into violence on Monday in Phase 2 of Noida, triggering chaos, arson and a heavy police crackdown.

Thousands of employees of a private company had been staging a protest for the past three days in the D-Block Hosiery Complex area. The protest intensified on Monday as agitated groups took to the streets, hurling stones, vandalising property and setting vehicles on fire.

The unrest escalated sharply in Sector 84, where at least two vehicles were set ablaze. Visuals from the area showed damaged cars and thick plumes of smoke rising, as panic spread across nearby industrial pockets.

Police rushed to the spot and deployed a heavy force, including the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), to contain the situation. Tear gas shells were fired to disperse the violent crowd.

Workers’ Key Demands

The protesting workers have raised multiple demands, including:

• Salary hike and timely payments
• Bonus and overtime compensation
• Weekly offs
• Issuance of salary slips
• Formation of a sexual harassment committee
• Creation of a grievance redressal cell

Traffic Hit, Protests Spread

The violence led to massive traffic snarls across Phase 2, with spillover protests also reported from Sector 62. Thousands of workers reportedly participated, bringing industrial activity in parts of the area to a halt.

The incident falls under the jurisdiction of the Phase 2 Police Station.

Notably, just a day earlier, district administration officials, police and authority representatives had held a meeting with workers, assuring them that their demands would be addressed. However, tensions appear to have boiled over despite those assurances.

Further details are awaited as the situation continues to develop.