Farmers Movement Archive

Ghaziabad: Will block NH-9 fully, warn farmers

GHAZIABAD: Farmer leaders at UP Gate have threatened to block the whole of NH-9 if their counterparts from other districts are not allowed to move towards the Ghazipur border in 24 hours. Earlier in the day, a group of farmers observed Shahid Divas at UP Gate to pay tributes to those who have died during the course of the agitation. Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat and singer Babu Mann attended the event. Rawat, however, did not share the stage and said he had come in personal capacity. "The administration is stropping those who are carrying flags and badges. I should not say this, but a person with a turban is facing more harassment. We are giving a 24-hour ultimatum to the government. Instead of stopping them, they should be shown respect," farmer leader Vishwa Mohan Singh told a group of administrative and police officials who had come to meet the protesters. Rakesh Tikait, the national president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said the protesters would block the other side of Delhi-Meerut Expressway (NH-9) if farmers wanting to go to the Ghazipur border are stopped anywhere. The Ghaziabad-Delhi lanes of the DME are already blocked. For long, farmers have been alleging that more protesters from neighbouring districts of UP are being stopped at various places by police. On Sunday, ADM (City) Shailendra Kumar Singh and other senior officials held a meeting with farmers over the issue. "We have noted down their grievances. They did not have any problem with the Ghaziabad administration as such. They said farmers were being stopped in other districts. We told them we will take up their issues with other districts," Ghaziabad district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said. Around 11am, the farmers at UP Gate held an event to observe Shahidi Divas to pay homage to protesters who died in the past few weeks. "As many as 29 farmers from Haryana and Punjab have died during this movement. Some of them died in accidents, some became ill. Others died due to the use of force by police. The government should listen to farmers," Tikait said. Meanwhile, a rally was held in the evening at Ramlila ground in Indirapuram by members of the Meerut-based Hind Majdoor Kisan Samiti, which is favouring the three laws. Around 1,500 people from Meerut and Muzaffarnagar drove in scores of tractors to Ghaziabad. However, their programme started after a delay of about three hours as the group did not take the route fixed by the Ghaziabad administration and instead chose to march from Hindon Elevated road to the rally site via Mohan Nagar. A minor scuffle also broke out between the members of the outfit and the police, who tried to divert them. The police had a tough time managing the sites at UP Gate and Ramlila ground, which are separated by a few kilometres. To ensure that farmers associated with the samiti did not reach the Ghazipur border, the police had put a blockade at several places using earth movers. Paramilitary forces, PAC personnel and police teams were deployed in large numbers in Indirapuram and UP Gate.

The Times of India

2020-12-21

Ghaziabad