A Study of Aghapur Village

Aghapur Village

Aghapur Village is located in Sector- 41, Noida, 10km from toll road.The boundary of this village is defined, from west DSH road, East Sec-41,NALA at North and school at South.

Though this is strongly linked with the developed area of NOIDA, yet there this village has a strong characteristic of its own. The type of lifestyle led here is very different from the near by NOIDA or Delhi.

History:

• This village came into existence during 1900.
• The residents of this village orignally came from near by settlements close to the Yamuna, as flood was a major problem faced by the people.
• Originally there were only four to five families, who were primarily the gujjars
• The land now under NOIDA originally belonged to these people which was later taken over by the NOIDA authorities.

Location:

• Agahpur Village is located in NOIDA Sector-41.
  
• The village is nearly 10km from the NOIDA toll plaza.
  
• 3-3.5km ,along DSH road  connecting Agahpur Village to Atta Market.

Early Settlement:

People from Aliganj, Kotlamubarkpur and other places on the banks of Yamuna came to this place due to flooding of the river.

• Gujjar  and Chamar Comunities form two main nuclei of the settlement spreading  outwards.
• The more powerful Gujjar Community checked the spread of Chamar Community.
• Their external boundaries at present is joined to each other but there still exists a segregation of areas caste wise. 

 

Gujjar located themselves on higher level while the lower caste (Chamars) were on the lower level.

This type of segregation still remains.

Growth Pattern:

• The pattern of the settlement is of organic kind.
• There is no proper grid pattern.
• People came and settled here over a period of time.
• There is no clear and definite road pattern.
  
• Lanes which leads to the inside of the village obeys no order.
• It just break into curves and angles.
  
• Looks like they were made to access the already haphazardly placed houses.
  

Village Plan:

Main Entries

There are four main entries to the village.

Open Spaces and Dead Ends

Schools and Shops

Segregation Among the Communities

There is a stark segregation between the communities of Gujjars (higher caste) and Chamar (lower caste). The upper class restricted the expansion of the lower caste people to a limited area.

Effect of Urbanization:

• Their land was taken over by the NOIDA development authority to built NOIDA.
  
• In return of their land they were given compensation.
  
• The compensation they received was Rs3/yard²  or Rs3000/bigha.
  
• The land was taken over by NOIDA authority in the year 1976.
  
• In 1976, they got less compensation but in the later years have got more.

• Roads and petroleum pumps came into existence.
  
• Hospitals were built.
  
• Schools were opened in this area, by the villagers only.

Economy:

• Earlier people relied on agriculture and cattle for there livelihood.
  
• Drastic change came when NOIDA Authorities took over their lands.
  
• Now they have to rely on their cattle mainly for milk.
  

• They now have to find other sources of income to suffice their needs.(e.g. putting their houses on rent, small shops etc.)
• People even go out for work in the areas nearby.

Recent Aghapur:

• Expansion of the village  is now restricted by the NOIDA authorities which has led to more congestion in the area.
• Since people here have started giving their houses on rent on cheaper rates as compared to the areas nearby, this also has lead in increase in net population.

Older houses are being broken down – though some of them still remain and new construction is being done to meet the demands of increasing population.

^{New Construction Made}

^{Some Older Houses Are Still Retained}

Problems:

• Earlier the village Panchayat was responsible for up keep of village. As the village came under NOIDA authorities the village maintenance was given to contractors who neglect their duties.
• Cleaning of streets  and drains becomes a major challenge during the monsoons with water clogging on the streets.

• Though the road on the periphery is in good condition but as we move inside ,we find poorly maintained streets with a lot of filth lying on and on the sides of them.
• A flowing NALA just beside the settlement is the ready source of mosquitoes found in abundance.
• The compensation tussle is still going on with the NOIDA authority and a court case is in progress about the same matter.