Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers' protests at Delhi borders: Traffic & industry choking, more capital chaos ahead

NEW DELHI: Traffic moved bumper to bumper on key routes in Delhi on Saturday as thousands of protesting farmers stayed put at the city’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for the tenth day. The second carriageway of the Chilla border was also closed to traffic during the day. The police closed the two national highways connecting Ghaziabad with Delhi as the farmers occupied the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. Singhu, Auchandi, Lemuria Maniyari and Mangesh borders were also closed for traffic along with NH-44 on both carriageways. People who use these routes were advised alternative accesses such as via Safiabad, Saboli, NH-8, Bhopra and Apsara borders and the two Peripheral Expressways. In a series of tweets, Delhi Traffic Police suggested optional passages bypassing the roads closed due to the demonstrations. With traffic movement closed at Chilla border, motorists going to and from Noida were diverted from Crown Plaza Chowk and Akshardham. Commuters were asked to altogether avoid Mukarba Chowk, Outer Ring Road, GT Karnal Road and NH44, despite which long snarls formed at the points from where traffic was being diverted. Tikri and Jharoda Borders continued to remain shut on both sides for traffic movement. Jhatikara border let through two-wheelers, while people crossed into Haryana from Dhansa, Daurala, Kapashera, Rajokri NH8, Bijwasan/Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera borders. Badusarai Border was open only for light motor vehicles and two-wheelers. Roads to Delhi were generally affected after farmers affiliated to Bharatiya Kisan Union-Bhanu were stopped by police barricades at the Jewar and Mathura toll points and near the Uttar Pradesh-Palwal border and in retaliation, protesters at Chilla border closed one carriageway of Noida-Delhi Link Road. “Our brothers are being stopped at the UP border. We had vacated a carriageway in good faith, but police have stopped our supporters from reaching here,” said Yogesh Pratap Singh, state president, BKU-Bhanu. The cops, in turn, alleged that the agitators were “misbehaving”. Commuters heading to Noida from Delhi via Chilla border were, therefore, caught by surprise and had to return or use alternative routes. Around 11.30 am, Delhi Traffic Police tweeted that both carriageways near Chilla border were shut and traffic had been diverted from Crown Plaza Chowk and Akshardham. Jasmeet Singh, DCP (East), accused the farmers of insisting they would go to Parliament, Ramlila Maidan and Jantar Mantar. “We tried to make them understand that one carriageway should be opened because patients going to hospitals like Max Patparganj and AIIMS use the route. So far, however, we haven’t received any positive response to our request,” he said. (With inputs from Shikha

The Times of India

2020-12-06

Delhi