E-Paper
Chilla border completely shut as farmers block Delhi to Noida carriageway as well
Chila border (Delhi-Noida Link Road) was completely blocked by farmers on Saturday morning, bringing traffic to a standstill and forcing the police to increase the deployment in the area.
Chila border (Delhi-Noida Link Road) was completely blocked by farmers on Saturday morning, bringing traffic to a standstill and forcing the police to increase the deployment in the area. Senior police officers said as the road leads to multiple hospitals in east Delhi as well as Noida, they have requested protesters to open a passage for emergency vehicles.
Other borders points that are completely shut, as on Saturday, are Singhu and Tikri borders, where farmers have been camping since November 27 to protest the Centre’s new farm laws.
Deputy commissioner of police (east) Jasmeet Singh said until Friday, only one carriageway (from Noida to Delhi) was blocked by protesters while the other one (from Delhi to Noida) was open to traffic. “On Saturday morning, farmer groups blocked that carriageway as well, leaving no scope for traffic movement,” he said.
Joint commissioner of police (eastern range) Alok Kumar said they are negotiating with farmer leaders at Chilla border to open one carriageway or at least give a passage for emergency vehicles. “Once before, too, they had shut the Chilla border completely, but we had convinced them to open one carriageway. Our talks are in progress,” he said.
The DCP also said since the number of farmers have also increased at Chila border from Saturday, the police have accordingly stepped up deployment. “Adequate presence of paramilitary and police personnel along with teams of the rapid action force in riot gear was maintained at the border point throughout the day,” he said.
Satish Tomar, IT in-charge of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, who is camping at Chilla border, said more farmers were on their way to Chilla border on Saturday when they were detained by police in Jewar. “In protest, we blocked the other carriageway also at Chilla border. The farmers were released by evening and they have reached Chilla. But we are continuing with the blockade of the Chilla border completely. If they try to remove us forcefully, we will march to Jantar Mantar,” Tomar said.
Apart from Chilla border, the traffic situation at the other Delhi border points remained the same as on Friday.
A senior police officer said that on Thursday, the situation was bad as the closure of the border had happened suddenly and during office hours. “On Friday, people got used to the diversions and on Saturday, because the traffic volume was low, the situation was much better. However, because main routes at the Gazipur border (on NH-24) also remained closed to traffic from Gaziabad to Delhi, people were advised to avoid NH-24 and use Apsara, Bhopra or DND Flyway instead to reach Delhi. Since these alternative routes are narrow as compared to the main roads, they witnessed slow-moving traffic,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.
Delhi Police kept making regular updates on social media to keep commuters informed about the diversions and closures.
The movement of the vehicles on Anand Vihar-Ghazipur road and other routes by which motorists were entering Delhi from Ghaziabad also saw slow-moving traffic on Saturday. The traffic remained diverted on other routes such as the DND Flyway, Kalindi Kunj, Dallupura, Khoda, New Ashok Nagar, and Kondli borders.
The other border points fully closed since Wednesday are Jharoda, Lampur, Auchandi, Safiabad, Piao Maniyari, and Saboli. Badusarai border remained open only to light motor vehicles such as cars and two-wheelers, while Jhatikara border was open only to two-wheelers.