Nationwide strike call by farmers fail to impact life in Noida

Parents of students appearing for board exams on Friday said that their wards reached the exam centres conveniently

Amid calls for a nationwide lockdown by farmers’ organisations on Friday, in Noida, the traffic movement was slow during the peak hours but did not witness any massive snarl, traffic officials said.

Farmers under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Parishad protest outside the NTPC office in Sector 24 on Friday, in response to a nationwide rural strike call given by farmer unions. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

It was slow because of the restrictions on DND Flyway, Kalindi Kunj, and Chilla border, they explained. At Noida-Delhi borders, the Delhi traffic police had blocked two of the four lanes to check protesting farmers.

According to deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Anil Kumar Yadav the traffic police had issued an advisory on Thursday that was followed on Friday.

“The traffic movement was slow during peak hour at Chilla border but the situation improved later in the day. Traffic police personnel were deployed at all diversion points to regulate traffic. There were no choking points reported across the city till 6 pm,” he said.

Parents of students appearing for board exams on Friday, meanwhile, said that their wards reached the exam centres conveniently.

“We did not witness any traffic jam around 9am between Sector 27 in Noida to Mayur Vihar in Delhi, where my son’s examination centre is located. Traffic movement was slow but was not restricted,” said Vibha Singh, a resident of Arun Vihar in Noida and a commuter.

“We were able to reach Mayur Vihar in about 45 minutes rather than the usual about 30 minutes,” she added.

Yatendra Kasana, president of All Noida School Parents Association (ANSPA) said that none of the parents in Noida reported delay for their wards in reaching exam centres on Friday.

“I left for work earlier than usual in the morning as I expected traffic jams on Delhi-Noida link roads. I reached my office with a 15-minute delay,” said Mohit Rathi, a resident of Jaypee Wishtown in Sector 128 who works in Okhla, Delhi.

Meanwhile, the city witnessed some minor scattered protests by farmers groups.

Around 11 am, a farmers’ group arrived at Atta Market and forced some shopkeepers to shut the shops for an hour.

CB Jha, president of Atta Market association in Sector 27, said: “Some shopkeepers shut the shops and the vendors also fled. However, soon a police team arrived at the spot and removed the farmers,” he said.

Ashok Bhati, district president of BKU Tikait, said, “The farmers’ team had conducted a march in the area. We sat there for a while. Some shopkeepers had extended support to farmers by shutting their shops. We had not forced anyone to do so”.

Another group under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) protested at NTPC office in Sector 24. The farmers started the protest at the NTPC office and marched around its office and ended their protest at the starting point.

In Greater Noida, a farmers group affiliated to All India Kisan Sabha also protested at Pari Chowk but said that they will also wait till February 18 for a decision from the high-level committee.