For three hours, from 12 noon to 3 pm on Saturday, farmers protesting against the Center’s new agricultural laws blocked several roads mainly in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday.
Elsewhere, the call for a nationwide “chakka jam” elicited a mixed response.
In both states, however, the blockade disrupted traffic on many highways, even as farmers’ unions took steps to ensure that the Republic Day violence did not recur when a section of the protests spun out of control.
On most sections, traffic resumed after 3.30 pm; ambulances and essential services vehicles were allowed; several leaders toured the state and stressed to the protesters the need to maintain peace; The blockade was not allowed to extend beyond the stipulated 3pm.
Kisan unions ‘Chakka jam’ at the Ladowal toll plaza on NH-1 in Ludhiana on Saturday.
The government was also on alert. All day, all the district police chiefs were in the field. Before the chakka jam, the Center, on February 5 at midnight, cut off internet services in Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, the three protest sites until 11:59 pm on February 6.
An order issued by the Interior Ministry said it was being done “in the interest of maintaining public safety and avoiding a public emergency.”
Following the January 26 violence, the Center had suspended the Internet in these areas through a series of orders, first between January 26 and 27, and then between February 29 and 2.
Clearly, the shadow of January 26 loomed over today’s protests. Speaking to The Indian Express, Vicky Jainpuri of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), whose members deviated from their designated route on R-Day, said: “We told our youth, ‘You have already seen the aftermath of the Red Fort incident. . No one should misbehave again. ‘ Peace is our strength. “
Buta Singh Burjgill, president of BKU (Dakaunda), one of the key protest unions, said that he and his senior vice president, Manjit Dhaner, repeatedly underlined this precaution.
“The January 26 episode of antisocial elements infiltrating our groups did us great harm,” Burjgill said. “So we had given repeated instructions to young people that they should drive people in tractor cars to the dharna sites to drive slowly and be polite.”
That’s why the jam lasted only three hours, Dhaner added. “So people can get to the sites at noon and go home before sunset. The idea was to show our strength and be heard ”.
Said Burjgill: “We told all the speakers that no one should personally attack any leader. Our protest is against the farm laws … we ordered the speakers not to make provocative speeches. “
“The chakka jam was carried out peacefully without any disturbance. This protest will continue if the government does not heed our demands, “said agricultural leader Darshan Pal at a press conference.
Road blocking at 250 sites in Haryana affected several districts, including Sonipat, Jhajjar, Rohtak, Kaithal, Fatehabad, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Sirsa, Mahendragarh, Ambala, Hisar, Jind, and Palwal.
Villagers, farmers and supporters carrying Kisan Ekta flags and banners gathered at key intersections and highway toll booths.
Raising slogans against the Center, they parked their tractors or ducked on the road. Among the roads affected are Chandigarh-Zirakpur, Amritsar-Pathankot, Tarn Taran-Kapurthala, Ferozepur-Fazilka, Bathinda-Chandigarh, Ludhiana-Jalandhar, Panchkula-Pinjore and the Ambala-Chandigarh sections.
Rajiv Arora, Additional Chief Secretary of Haryana (Home), said: “It was just a three-hour chakka jam and everything went peacefully. There was no incident of disruption of law and order or ambulance or any other essential services vehicle jammed or blocked by farmers anywhere.
In Punjab, the chakka jam disrupted traffic in more than 350 places. The protests were organized by 32 farmers’ unions and BKU Ugrahan and KMSC.
Said Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, General Secretary of BKU Ugrahan: “We are always peaceful, but once we get bitten it is twice shy. Therefore, our standard instructions to everyone was not to personally attack anyone except Deep Sidhu, who is a BJP-RSS man and who tried to smear peaceful farmers. “
In Punjab, women participated in large numbers in almost all places in dharna with children as well: on the Moonak-Tohana road, women outnumbered men.
In Barnala and Ludhiana, many residents joined their children.
In parallel, more than 100 dharnas have been performed throughout Punjab for more than 100 days.
On Friday, peasant leader Rakesh Tikait had stated that the protest outside Delhi would continue until October 2. He said that he had received “inputs” that some “malefactors” would try “to disturb the peace” and had therefore canceled the “chakka”. jam ”in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
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