More farmers arrive at UP Gate protest site

Ghaziabad: As the crucial talks between the government and the farmers’ leaders started on Saturday afternoon in Delhi, the gathering at the UP Gate swelled further

Ghaziabad: As the crucial talks between the government and the farmers’ leaders started on Saturday afternoon in Delhi, the gathering at the UP Gate swelled further as around 200 more farmers arrived there on Saturday evening. Besides, hundreds of farmers also gathered at Loni and tried to proceed to Delhi on Saturday evening, the police said.

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On Saturday, a total of around 1,000 farmers were on a sit-in at the UP Gate.

The farmers said that their protests have entered tenth day and the fifth round of talks between the farmers’ leaders and the government were going on in Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan to break the deadlock over the Centre’s new farm laws.

“Hundreds of more farmers arrived to show support to our protest. Most of them have arrived from Uttarakhand, UP and even Madhya Pradesh. The talks are on with the government and there is no decision as of now (till Saturday evening). When our leaders come from Delhi, they will brief us about Saturday’s development,” said Rajvir Singh, state vice-president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).

The protests were initially held by BKU supporters below the UP Gate flyover where the farmers have parked their tractor-trolleys and have also set up kitchens.

However, on Saturday, the protests have shifted almost entirely to the upper portion of the UP Gate after the farmers blocked the Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway of National Highway-9 on Thursday morning. The blockade continued on Saturday as well and likely to continue further.

“Most of the farmers are now sitting in protest at the highway which is blocked. We are listening to speeches of our leaders at the site. We all are here to press for our demands of roll-back of the new bills. Other issues related to electricity and minimum support price should also be resolved,” said Sandeep Chaudhary, one of the protesters.

Far away from the UP Gate, hundreds of farmers on Saturday evening also tried to proceed to Delhi from Pushta police post on Delhi-Saharanpur Road in Loni. The farmers had come from neighbouring districts like Baghpat and arrived in their tractor-trolleys to galvanise support.

Iraj Raja, superintendent of police (rural), said, “The farmers were trying to move to Delhi but they were stopped near Loni border. It is likely that they will return back to their districts. In case they wish to proceed in orderly manner, we will allow them passage.”