Farmers’ protests remain peaceful in Noida amid tight security; over 100 political leaders put under preventive detention

Noida: The farmers’ protests in Gautam Budh Nagar, in response to the nationwide strike call given by farmer organisations, remained peaceful on Tuesday as more

Noida: The farmers’ protests in Gautam Budh Nagar, in response to the nationwide strike call given by farmer organisations, remained peaceful on Tuesday as more than 3,000 police personnel were deployed at different strategic locations in the district. Also, over 100 district-level leaders of major political parties, including Congress, were put on preventive detention, which resulted in thin gathering at the Chilla Border and Dalit Prerna Sthal, the police said.

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Besides, the police also used drone cameras to keep aerial surveillance across the district. Some local farmer leaders were also put on preventive detention, the police said.

However, a group of 50 farmers protested at the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and halted traffic for one hour in Greater Noida. The police said they had to divert the traffic.

About 20 supporters of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti) tried to march from Dalit Prerna Sthal to DND Flyway, but were stopped by the police near DND Flyway loop and returned. The protest at Chilla border also remained mild, the police said.

“We wanted to take DND Flyway and go to the Rashtrapati Bhawan to submit a memorandum. But the Noida police stopped us on the way. We have submitted the memorandum here and returned to the protest venue at 2.30pm,” said Thakur Swaraj Singh Bhati, national president of BKU (Lok Shakti).

About 30 workers of BKU-Bhanu protested peacefully at Chilla border. Yogesh Pratap Singh, UP president of BKU-Bhanu, said that the government had engaged its entire machinery to fail the nationwide strike. “They have arrested some farmer leaders to ensure they do not come here for protest. But we will continue our protest till the demands are met,” he said.

There was no major impact on businesses as most of the markets remained open. The bus, auto and truck services were functional in the district.

Chaudhury Vedpal Singh, president of Noida Transport Sanyukt Morcha, said, “We have not joined the strike as it is purely a farmers’ call. There are over 6,000 trucks in our association. But we are not sending trucks in sensitive areas where protests are happening due to safety reasons,” he said.

Om Prakash Gurjar, president of Noida auto union, said that there are 20,000 autos in the district. “We did not join the strike on Tuesday. Autos were running as usual in Noida,” he said.

A visit to Sector 18 market found that most of the shops, food joints, etc. were open. SK Jain, president of Sector 18 Market Association, said that local traders have not joined the protest. “There is no enforcement of closure of shops. There was no significant impact of strike on traders. Since today is Tuesday, some individual shops may be closed due to weekly off,” he said.

C B Jha, president of Atta Market Association, said that the market remained open. “There are 700 shops in the market and most of them were open. We are with the farmers, but we feel the issue has been politicised,” he said. Jha said that a police team had met him on Monday evening and assured of safety and security.

However, at Sharma Market in Sector 27, several shops of garment and electronic gadgets were closed.

Several local political leaders were taken into preventive detention. Manoj Chaudhury, district president of GB Nagar Congress, said that he had returned home on Monday night from a marriage ceremony. “A team from Beta II police station reached my home and detained me. They brought me to the police station and said I have to stay here till Tuesday afternoon. They released me at 3pm,” he said.

Bhupendra Jadaun, GB Nagar AAP president, said that Noida police detained him for 18 hours to ensure he does not attend the protest on Tuesday. “On Monday 11pm, a police team had come to my home. They asked if I had any plan of protest on Tuesday. I said I will attend a peaceful protest in support of farmers. The police brought me to police station at night and released me at 5pm on Tuesday,” he said.

Ashray Gupta, former president of Samajwadi Party youth brigade in Noida, said that the local police had also called him and asked about his plan. “I did not reveal my plan. In the morning, we protested at Shaheed Smarak Noida Sector 37 and then reached the Chilla border to extend support to farmers,” he said.

Police officials said that the protests remained peaceful in the district. “We had made a coordinated effort and identified 110 persons belonging to different political parties and associations. The police put them under preventive detention till Tuesday evening and later released on personal bond. We also flew drone cameras but did not find any suspicious activity in the district,” said Love Kumar, additional commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar.

The officials said that GB Nagar police commissioner Alok Singh also inspected DND Flyway and other areas on Tuesday. The traffic was smooth at Kalindi Kunj and DND Flyway as the police did not allow protesters reach there, they said, adding that the Chilla border remained closed on both sides.