Updated: November 28, 2020 11:01:33 am
Farmers clash with security personnel at the Delhi border at Singhu on GT Karnal Road on Friday. (Express photo: Praveen Khanna)
Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana, seeking the repeal of recently enacted farm laws and the Center’s assurances on the MSP regime and the mandi system, arrived at the gates of Delhi on Friday, where police used tear gas, cannons of water and lathis to block his march.
The confrontation between the police and protesting farmers, who showed up in hundreds of vehicles, tractors and cars, took place at the Singhu border at GT Karnal Road. In the afternoon, the police stepped back and allowed farmers to head to Nirankari Ground in Burari, less than a kilometer away. However, many farmers seemed reluctant to move and were still at the border late at night.
Since the Center made no further effort to reach out to farmers, the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, reiterating that farmers’ organizations had been called in for another round of talks on December 3, urged the protesters to return in view of Covid-19 and winter. The Delhi police asked the Delhi government for permission to use nine stadiums as makeshift detention centers.
the The Delhi government, however, rejected the police request.. A note signed by the Minister of the Interior, Satyendar Jain, read:
“Non-violent protest is a constitutional right for all of India. They can’t be jailed for that. “
Police deployment on the Singhu border had been intense since early morning, with barbed wire and huge concrete slabs being laid in the middle of GT Karnal Road. More than 30 concrete barriers were placed on both sides of the road, along with steel barricades tied with barbed wire. Behind the barricades, hundreds of staff from the Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force waited anxiously.
Read | Delhi: After Facing Heat From Police, Farmers Dig For A Cold Night
There were also parked two trucks with water cannons, a fireboat and a vehicle with tear gas ammunition. From a makeshift tower next to the Alipur police post, policemen resorted to aerial surveillance and at least two drones monitored the protests from above.
Before the confrontation with the police, Akhil Singh, a farmer from Ambala, said: “The agricultural laws have threatened our very existence. The kind of future we are looking at, we don’t mind protesting for as long as it takes. We are facing police action, yes, but we will face it until a solution is reached. We have enough supplies and we are self-sufficient. “
When the farmers started moving towards the barricades around 9 a.m., the police used more than 20 tear gas canisters to force them back. Officials said this was done to keep 100 meters between the protest site and the barricades. Water cannons were also deployed to drive the protesters back.
When tear gas projectiles began to rain down, people took refuge in narrow lanes along the road. Some protesters rushed to pour water on the projectiles while others tried to make another run towards the barricades. Restaurants and shops along the highway remained closed.
After 12:30 pm, more than 40 tear gas projectiles were fired and the water cannons returned. As smoke filled the air, the crowd momentarily dispersed. Around 3pm, there was a charge of lathi at the barricades.
Editorial | Talk to the farmer
It was around 3.30pm when the Delhi police agreed to let the protesters into Nirankari Ground. But until 5.30pm, the crowd was reluctant to head there. The police wanted them to advance in batches.
At Nirankari Ground, the police waited for farmers from the Singhu and Tikri borders to arrive. But in the evening, only a few members of Shiromani Akali Dal and AIKSCC had gathered at the site. Jugraj Singh, a farmer from Ropar, who had hit the ground after a long journey, said: “We left two days ago and arrived in Delhi on Thursday morning when the border was not sealed. The journey was hard because police personnel beat us near the Haryana border. They dug holes in the road where my car got stuck for a while. Somehow we made it to Delhi and stayed in Bangla Sahib, but the police stopped us around 3am. They took us to the Hari Nagar Police Station and released us at 4 pm today. “
On the Singhu border, Jasmeet Singh, a farmer from Ambala, refused to move: “It’s simple, either we go together or not. We have all come so far and people cannot be left behind. We are here to stay and we don’t care if they fortify the entire area. “
Opinion | Punjab winds
As darkness fell, hundreds of tractors remained parked on the road in Singhu, with bags of clothes, mattresses, blankets, shawls and barrels of water inside. Some of the crowd began preparing food and small langares were set up to serve rice, flatbreads, dal, and potatoes.
In Delhi, the police attempt to convert stadiums into makeshift detention centers provoked a strong reaction from AAP MLAs.
“The Delhi Police have rejected the permission of all farmer organizations for the protest and informed them that due to Covid-19, following the instructions of the DDMA (Delhi Disaster Management Authority), no type of manifestation nor dharna in this area. Legal action will be taken against offenders, ”said Delhi police spokesman Dr. Eish Singhal.
AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj, in a Twitter post, said: “I think it is the most inhumane thing we can do with our farmers. The Delhi police should stop calling themselves ‘Dil ki police’. “
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
.
