E-Paper
Heavy police deployment at Delhi borders to keep up vigil day after ‘chakka jam’
On Saturday, farmers’ ‘chakka jam’ call —blockade of national and state highways— against the internet ban near the protest sites and alleged harassment by authorities remained largely peaceful.
As farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s agricultural laws continued, security personnel were deployed on all borders of Delhi on Sunday, a day after the ‘chakka jam’ called by protesters on Saturday concluded peacefully.
Heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces was seen at Tikri border, which connects the national capital with Haryana, as well as Ghazipur border, which connects Delhi to Uttar Pradesh. The intensive security on Saturday came in order to avoid the rerun of Republic Day violence, when clashes broke out between the police and protesters following which one farmer died after his tractor overturned and several were injured on both sides.
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On Saturday, farmers’ ‘chakka jam’ call —blockade of national and state highways— against the internet ban near the protest sites and alleged harassment by authorities remained largely peaceful. Several thousands of farmers from across states, especially in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, came out in support while symbolic road blockades were observed in other parts of the country. The unions, however, had withdrawn the call for the blockade in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi citing inputs regarding some “miscreants trying to disrupt peace”.
As the three-hour blockade led to traffic snarls, farmers were seen offering food and water to stranded commuters on the Rohtak-Delhi highway. There were similar reports from Punjab as well. Farm leaders said protesters stalled traffic on roads in parts of Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere. Several protesters, however, were briefly detained by the police in several states for blocking roads.
Farmers have been camping at Delhi borders for more than two and a half months now demanding a repeal of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, which farmers say favour big corporations. The Centre has refuted the concerns and offered to put the laws on hold for 18 months, but talks are currently locked in a stalemate.
