Delhi Chalo protests: Farmers say 500 organizations are part of the protests.
New Delhi:
Large numbers of farmers continue to camp around the Delhi border despite being allocated land on the outskirts of the capital to protest against the farm laws they want to repeal. The protesters, who have defied tear gas, water cannons and lathi-charge during their agitation, have said they have enough essentials to continue their protests for up to six months. At least three roads leading to Delhi remain blocked amid the protests.
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Groups of farmers, walking around with tractors carrying essential food and supplies, had been trying to enter Delhi from multiple points, braving barricades, many wrapped in barbed wire and trenches dug near key roads.
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While the Tikri border (which runs from Delhi to Bahadurgarh) was opened for farmers to enter the national capital, the situation remains tense at the Singhu border, near Narela, on the outskirts of Delhi. At least three roads leading to Delhi remain blocked amid the protests. Aside from the Delhi-Bahadurgarh and Delhi-Sonepat highway, the situation is also tense in Delhi-Haridwar with farmers from Uttar Pradesh marching towards the national capital.
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“We have food rations for six months. We will come back after getting rid of the black farming laws that are against farmers,” said a protester on the Singhu border, according to the ANI news agency.
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A part of the protesters, however, is camping in a field in Burari near the outskirts of the capital amid a heavy police presence. They say their protests will continue until the farm laws are lifted. “Our protest will continue until the agricultural laws are withdrawn. We are here for the long term,” said a farmer at Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari, the approved site for the protests.
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Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has backed the farmers’ protests, is personally monitoring the arrangements being made in Burari, his party reported in a tweet. Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain and Delhi Jal Board Vice Chairman Raghav Chadha were instructed to oversee the arrangements at the site, it added. Local AAP MLAs were instructed to provide tents and food facilities to farmers, he said.
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Some of the protesters, however, complained about the lack of facilities at the protest site. “There are no arrangements at the protest site in Burari. There are no arrangements even for the toilets. We tried to go to a gurudwara but the police did not allow us,” a farmer told NDTV.
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Police officers have cited coronavirus rules to stop protesters. “We will not endanger the residents of Delhi,” said Delhi Police Officer Gaurav Sharma.
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Yesterday, the Delhi police request to convert nine stadiums in the city into makeshift “jails” to detain protesting farmers was rejected by the city’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
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Farmers protest against three new laws aimed at introducing reforms eliminating middlemen and improving farmers’ profits by allowing them to sell products anywhere in the country. Farmers and opposition parties argue that the laws will deprive farmers of a guaranteed minimum price for their produce and leave them at the mercy of companies.
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Farmers from six states – Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Kerala and Punjab – are heading to Delhi and intend to converge on Ram Lila Maidan in the heart of the city for a months-long planned protest. Farmers say 500 organizations are part of it. The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, which comprises seven farmers’ organizations, says they have written to the prime minister asking for negotiations and a place where farmers can meet.
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