Farmers Movement Archive

Singhu locals demand removal of barricades

The locals of Singhu on Thursday said they waited all day to meet senior police officers to request them to remove the barricades installed at the entry of the village but they were returned without being heard. They said the barricades were installed on January 29 and since then, they have been facing several problems related to vehicular traffic. Problems faced Government employee Pradeep Sehrawat, 31, from the village, said it takes them more than an hour to cross a distance of 1.5 km as they have to take a narrow path from inside the village. This particular distance — in case the barricades were not installed — would take only a few minutes to cross, using the main road. “The path from inside the village is so narrow that only one car can cross at one time,” he said. The locals also said women and children are now not free to walk and roam inside the village. “The bikes are speeding inside the village all the time. Often kids get hit by two-wheelers. Women feel unsafe as well,” he said. Those going to office, school and other destinations get late and sometimes have to pay a heavy price. Sandeep Dubey, who runs a school inside the village, said three days ago, his aunt complained of chest pain and had to be rushed to hospital in Madhuban Chowk. “It took us an hour and a half to reach the hospital. Even ambulance couldn’t be called here,” he said, adding that teachers complain of not being to reach because of lack of public transport. “There are hardly any buses coming here. Only a handful do”. The locals also said accidents have become rampant inside the village. Mr. Sandeep said that two days ago, a small tempo driver and his helper fell in the drain while driving because of the kaccha path. “With extreme difficulty, villagers pulled them out of the drain. No complaint was filed with the police,” he said. Sintu Kumar Jha, 24, said his sister got late for a competitive examination last week. “We had left at 7 a.m. for an exam at 8.30 a.m. and still got late,” he said. Mr. Dubey added: “Around 7.30 p.m, they [officials] told us that senior officers won’t be able to meet and we should come on Friday morning.” The bikes are speeding inside the village. Often kids get hit by two-wheelers. The path inside the village is so narrow that only one car can cross at one time Pradeep Sehrawat Resident of Singhu village

The Hindu

2021-02-12

NEW DELHI