Farmers Movement Archive

After day of clashes, farmers offered protest site at Delhi's Burari

NEW DELHI: Concrete slabs, concertina wire, trucks filled with sand and edgy cops firing teargas rounds kept the agitating farmers stalled at Singhu border on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway till late Friday afternoon. By the time the administration relented and offered the Nirankari Samagam grounds at Burari, resentment against police action and the fear of being corralled and grounded virtually on the outskirts of Delhi made the protesters opt to spend the night at the barricades. About 50km away, at Tikri border, farmers were tackled with water cannon when they drove their tractors into the trucks blocking their way. ‘Willing to brave the cold to make govt hear us out’Late in the afternoon, some had decided to quietly move to the Burari grounds but changed their mind when news reached them that the protesters at Singhu border had decided to stay put for the night. Though police reported late in the night that a small group of farmers had reached Burari, it was obvious that the attempt to end the stand-off had not entirely succeeded. Delhi Police officials said they were not letting their guard down. They have formed around 12 teams under DCP-rank officials which will maintain vigil through the night. Most of the farmers’ organisations from Punjab — about 30 — are in favour of moving to Burari but the younger lot is resisting and was behind the decision to settle down at Singhu border. There is a lot of resentment against the repeated teargassing by police. Some feel that Ramlila Maidan or Jantar Mantar would have given them a better platform. However, the senior leadership hopes to bring them around by Saturday. Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav told TOI that this was an “avoidable stalemate”. He described the move to let the farmers enter Delhi with their tractor trolleys as a “historic” decision, recalling that it was happening three decades after the 1988 Bharatiya Kisan Union agitation. He said there was no need for any provocation and “thankfully, there has been no violence”. The Centre had earlier invited the farmers for talks on the farm bills on December 3. The decision to let them enter the capital came after discussions with the ministry of home affairs, the Delhi lieutenant governor and intelligence agencies, said sources. Delhi Police had on Thursday evening stepped up deployment at all the borders in order to stop the farmers from entering the city at all costs. The entire police brass, including police commissioner S N Shrivastava, was out on a night-long vigil. The jostling at Singhu border led to police using mild force and teargas shells — some farmers had tried to breach the barricades and pelt stones. There were clashes at Tikri border, too, where, according to a senior police officer, 200 tractors were parked on the other side. Meanwhile, work was on to set up essential facilities at the Nirankari grounds in Burari with portable toilets, water tankers, a mobile dispensary and a langar service being provided for the farmers. The venue was also being fumigated. The national convener of the All India Kisan Sangarsh Coordination Committee, V M Singh, inspected the area and asked for 300-400 toilets and arrangements for food. AAP MLA Raghav Chadha also visited the site and announced that the Delhi Jal Board had appointed nodal officers to ensure drinking water was available to the farmers. “All possible arrangements for food and shelter have been made. In addition, every MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party will help our farmers,” he said. The BJP-led north corporation said they had deployed teams for sweeping the venue, collecting garbage and fumigating the area. In addition, volunteers from the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee had set up a langar at the site. Sunita Rani, a member of Punjab Istri Sabha, who had travelled all the way from Fazilka district in Punjab along with five other women to support the farmers, said it had taken them two days to reach Delhi. She said they had camped on the roadside despite the cold, but reaching Delhi was important so that they could raise their voice against the farm bills which were hurting lakhs of farmers across the country. “Each and every voice counts. We are willing to brave the cold so that the government understands the magnitude of the problem,” said Rani.

The Times of India

2020-11-28

Delhi