Farmers Movement Archive

Tikri trick: How farmers’ detour led to things spiralling out of control

NEW DELHI: What started off as a peaceful tractor parade from Tikri border on Tuesday around 9am turned into a violent clash by 11.45 am after the protesters reached Nangloi Chowk and insisted on changing the planned route. The farmers were to take a right towards Najafgarh but they insisted on marching towards Peeragarhi and then to Red Fort where other farmer groups had begun to gather. The clash between police and the protesters continued till evening, witnessing many rounds of teargas shelling, lathicharge and vandalism. Virendra Singh Hooda from Samyukt Kisan Morcha was atop a riot vehicle asking people to follow the route. Despite his attempts, his voice was overpowered by the voices of the protesters and he could not do much. Hooda told TOI: “Some miscreants have joined the protest and are hampering our image. We want to follow the designated route but they are not listening.” Personnel from paramilitary forces held a rope trying to stop the tractors but they continued accelerating and moved ahead forcibly. The roadblocks ahead for the farmers were boulders. A man came down from his tractor, tied one end of the rope to the boulder and attached the other end to the tractor. After multiple to and fro movements, the boulders were moved and the tractors moved towards Peeragarhi along with hundreds of farmers on foot. The cops had erected another barricade at Paschim Vihar (west) metro station, which the speeding tractors easily broke and moved ahead towards Madipur where they halted. Earlier, the farmers received a lot of support en route from the locals who waved at them as they passed by. Over changing the route, Kuldeep Singh from Bathinda said: “We wanted to be inside Delhi but they gave us a route, which was more like outside the city. We are already sitting outside the capital.” Shalini Singh, joint commissioner, South-Western range, said: “The protesters failed to adhere to the guidelines and take the designated route. Several policemen have been injured. We tried to stop them through whatever means necessary, we even sat on the road to ensure that the tractors did not pass through. We had thorough talks with farmer leaders and only then was the route defined. We have been trying to reach them since morning but to no avail. I request people to maintain the sanctity of Republic Day.”

The Times of India

2021-01-27

Delhi