NEW DELHI: The Singhu border in Delhi is bracing for the biggest traffic jam in agricultural unrest so far on Monday, and 10,000 more protesters are expected to join those already at the protest site amid signs of Rajasthan that hordes of farmers are pulling on the leash. to proceed to the capital.
At around 1.45 pm on Sunday, traffic on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway came to a halt in Jaisingh Khera when police stopped hundreds of Rajasthan farmers from moving on.
The Alwar administration diverted traffic through the Behror-Tatarpur-Khairtal route. The queue of vehicles stuck on the road stretched up to 10 km. The border was opened to vehicles coming from Delhi after 3.5 hours, according to officials.
“We have not blocked the road. It is a consequence of the fact that the police have blocked us by putting up barriers. We are just trying to go to Delhi for the government to listen to us, ”said Amra Ram, an agricultural activist from Rajasthan.
At Singhu, the refrain was that everyone was there for the long haul. “We will stay here for the months that are necessary. If the government feels that we will starve and die here, it is wrong. Each of us is a warrior and we will fight as one, ”said Gurnam Singh, a resident of Moga who has called his entire family to camp there.
Another protester who has been there since day one said that 2,000 tractor cars carrying at least four people each were heading to Singhu. Gaganpreet Singh, a Delhi resident who has been serving food to the protesters, said he had asked his friends to join him on Monday.
“I come from a family of farmers and I will always defend their rights,” he said. Also protester Mannat Singh said the plan was to block all entry points to the capital.
“We will also try to block the arterial roads within Delhi. It’s not that we want to create inconvenience for people; we just want our protest to be noticed. ”A Delhi traffic police officer said authorities were aware of the build-up of protests and had planned a further deployment accordingly.
“The open borders available to Haryana are Jharoda, Daurala, Kapashera, Badusarai, Rajokri, NH8, Bijwasan, Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera. The Tikri and Dhansa borders are now closed to traffic ”.
From Tikri, BKU Ekta Ugrahan activists set out for Delhi on Sunday with three closed-circuit television cameras that can be connected to mobile phones. These cameras will record the activity around the activists housed in 35 carts on the Lambi block, “in case there is a problem.”
Nine-year-old Manipur climate activist Licypriya Kangujam was at the Singhu border to support the uproar. “Our farmers are the biggest victims of climate change. The government should resolve the current farmers’ crisis as soon as possible, ”he said.
Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav and activist Medha Patkar were among those who arrived at the site in Shahjahanpur, where the Haryana police have blocked protesters from Rajasthan. “It is strange that the Center is forcing farmers to accept an ‘historical gift’ that is not wanted. The prime minister should think about it and repeal the new agricultural lawsYadav said.
The Rewari police have deployed around 400 policemen, including an RAF company, to arrest more farmers marching towards Delhi. In Punjab, farmers unions will protest Monday in front of the Deputy Commissioners’ offices of all districts, shopping malls and the Reliance Group fuel pumps, and in front of the homes of BJP officials.
The leaders of the protesting organizations said on Sunday they would also go on a one-day hunger strike at the protest sites, said BKU (Krantikari) President Surjit Singh Phool. BKU (Kadian) District Barnala President Jagseer Singh celebrated his daughter’s first birthday on Sunday at the Singhu border.
“I have been here for the last few days. I couldn’t find time to be with my family, so I celebrated right here, ”he told TOI.
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