Chakka Jam Farmers: Farmers block the Eastern Peripheral Highway during their protest.
Highlight
- Additional security has been deployed in Delhi in view of the Chakka traffic jam
- Congress has expanded its support for the national blockade
- Farmers have rejected the offer to suspend farm laws for 18 months.
New Delhi:
The three-hour nationwide “chakka jam” blockade of national and state roads by farmers protesting against the Center’s agricultural laws began today with a high alert in Delhi. A group of farmers has blocked the road in Palwal de Haryana. Farmers have said there will be a blockade in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand if they are “called to Delhi.” In Bengaluru, 30 people have been pre-trial detained.
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Farmers have blocked the road from the Delhi-Haryana border in Kundli to Palwal. The movement of ambulances and essential services has not stopped. The Pathankot-Jammu Highway has also been blocked.
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The border between Punjab and Haryana has been sealed and several inland routes have also been blocked.
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Bharti Kisan (Ekta Ugrahan) Union Secretary General Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said they are carrying out roadblocks at 33 places in 15 districts, including Sangrur, Barnala and Bathinda in Punjab.
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Delhi, which saw violence during the Republic Day tractor rally, has been under a security blanket. Around 50,000 police, paramilitary and reserve forces have been deployed in the Delhi-NCR region. Access to at least eight metro stations has been closed since morning.
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At the ITO in Delhi, which saw violence on Republic Day when a group of farmers headed to the Red Fort, there has been a large police presence. The police have placed a water cannon vehicle and “Vajra” which is used as a riot control vehicle.
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“Tomorrow there will be no roadblocks in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand; roads will be blocked in the rest of the country except Delhi. The reason is that they can be called to Delhi at any time, so they are kept on hold,” said Bharatiya. Kisan Union. Leader Rakesh Tikait said.
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Congress has extended its support for the national blockade. “The peaceful satyagraha of annadatas is in the national interest: these three laws are not only harmful to the farmer-workers, but also to the people and the country. Full support!” Rahul Gandhi said in a Hindi tweet.
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Farmers reiterated today that the turmoil will continue until the farm laws are lifted. A series of meetings between the Center and the representatives of the farmers have left blank.
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Farmers have rejected the Center’s latest offer to hold farm laws on hold for 18 months and continue negotiations. The government, for its part, has made it clear that it will not withdraw the laws, which have been billed as its major reforms in the sector that would improve farmers’ incomes.
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The protesting farmers have expressed fear that the laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of large corporations.
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