GREATER NOIDA: At least 170 farmers, whose land was acquired for the Noida International Airport or those who were relocated due to related projects, will take the first flight from Jewar to Lucknow on Monday and meet Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.Many farmers including Balbhadra Singh, 85, of Ranhera village, Rajbati Devi, 85 of Rohi, and Jaivir Singh 75 of Parohi said they will travel first time by a plane. (HT Archive)The CM along with his team will receive the farmers at the airport in Lucknow. During their meeting, the state government will express its gratitude to farmers for supporting the ambitious project. They will fly back in afternoon, they added.Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh facilitated this plane journey to carry farmers from six villages, on whose land the stage-1 development, consisting one terminal and passenger building is built, to start operations.These villagers with be travelling along with other officials in the first flight, officials said.He said these farmers will include those who had no farm land but they were displaced due to land acquisition for airport projects.“This is an important day for Jewar and Uttar Pradesh as 170 local farmers, including 20 women, will take the Noida-Lucknow flight Monday at 8:35am. They will also meet the CM and express their gratitude for developing a world class international airport in their area. This moment is not only a matter of pride for Jewar but for the entire nation because the project will change the lives of these families and others too. The very farmers who once spent their days cultivating these lands will now undertake their first air journey from the international airport built upon those lands,” Singh told HT.Notably, around 1,334 hectares was acquired from these six villages comprising Rohi, Parohi, Ranhera, Kishorpur, Dayanatpur and Banwaribas for the project in the first phase. In total, the administration needs to acquire 5,000 hectares of land.Talking to HT, many farmers including Balbhadra Singh, 85, of Ranhera village, Rajbati Devi, 85 of Rohi, and Jaivir Singh 75 of Parohi said they will travel first time by a plane.“We are thankful to CM Adityanath and our MLA Dhirendra Singh who has made this project a reality. It is a historic day not only in our life but also for our country that an international airport is starting operations from Jewar, where we never even thought of it. It is a moment of pride for me and my fellow farmers who will travel via flight to Lucknow. We will thank CM there and come back by flight,” said Balbhadra Singh.Rajbati Devi said, “I never thought of travelling in flight. I cannot describe my feelings. Our MLA has made it for us to travel via flight. I am happy and hope this airport will bring a better future for our children.”