Haryana Police deploys 500 personnel ahead of farmers’ rally on Republic Day

Haryana Police on Monday deployed 500 personnel on the borders connecting Rajasthan, Nuh and Gururgam, after protesting farmers announced that they would join the tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day.

Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at different sites on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, including Sangwari Chowk, in Rewari city; Masani village near Dharuhera, and at Shahjahanpur border in Rajasthan. They are protesting against three new farm laws, which were passed by the Central government last September.

The protestors have visited nearby villages and requested farmers to get their tractors to join the rally. Satnarayan Nehra, the president of Nehra Khap of Haryana, said, “We have decided to move to Delhi and hold a tractor rally on Old Delhi Ring Road on Republic Day. We have called all the farmers of Nuh, Gurugram and Rewari to join us a day before the rally at the Gurugram border. There are more than 1,000 farmers in Nuh who own tractors and have agreed to extend their support ,” he said.

Nehra also said the while the police are not allowing the tractor trolleys in groups to move but they are not stopping single tractors from crossing either. So, we have decided to move one by one, he said.

Ram Krishan Mehlawat, the Rewari president of Rashtriya Kisan Union, said that more than 3,000 tractors will gather in Delhi from Gurugram. Women and children will also take part. “We have requested the heads of more than 300 villages to support our movement ,” he said.

The police said units of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Rapid Action Force (RAF), Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) and Haryana Police have been deployed at the border areas to control the situation.

Rajesh Kumar, deputy superintendent of Bawal, said that they will not allow any tractor to cross until January 26 as they are aware the protestors are planning to gather in Delhi and using alternative routes to cross the stretch. “We have increased the deployment and more than 500 personnel have been deployed at the border and on the Expressway to monitor their movements. We have successfully controlled the situation so far and will ensure that their movement is restricted,” he said.

Astha Modi, the deputy commissioner of police (headquarters), said, “We are keeping a close watch on protesters’ movement and will not allow them to enter Gururgam district jurisdiction. The teams are on high alert and we are managing the traffic situation to ensure that no congestion is reported from the national highway. We have deployed enough force on the highway so that daily commuters are not affected by the ongoing protest.”

Ten police control room (PCR) vans and 12 motorbikes have also been patrolling the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway to resolve traffic snarls, said the police.