Farmers Movement Archive

Fearing police action, many leave UP Gate protest site after violence in Delhi

Ghaziabad: A day after the incidents of violence in Delhi, the UP Gate protest site was quiet on Wednesday as many of the protesters along with their tractor-trolleys left the site on Tuesday night. According to the local intelligence unit of the Ghaziabad police, many protesters left out of fear of any action by the police after the incidents in Delhi. It is alleged that many of the protesters in their tractors on Tuesday morning had broken the barricades at the UP Gate and entered Delhi where some of them allegedly attacked and even brandished swords at the policemen while others created ruckus at ITO before reaching the Red Fort. “Many of the protesters left in their tractors on Tuesday night fearing a police action. There are about 50% tents at UP Gate which are lying vacant since Tuesday and even the langars are not having much of visitors which otherwise were seen beelined for having food and snacks,” said an officer from the local intelligence wing. The estimated gathering at the UP Gate had swelled to about 15-20 thousand, but the site wore a deserted look on Wednesday with estimated 700-800 people present there. “Many have left due to fear of police action while some have gone back as they had only come to attend the tractor rally. The incident at the Red Fort on the Republic Day was a sorry picture. It was absolutely wrong and unpardonable. I am also planning to leave by Wednesday night,” said Satpal Singh, a protester who had come from Rampur district in UP along with his son. The langars setup by different organisations were also vacant while many camps were getting dismantled by the protesters. Even, below the UP Gate flyover where majority of occupants are from BKU, the area only had a few dozens of tractors/trolleys lined up while others made hasty retreat after incidents in Delhi. Even the UP Gate to Vaishali which was lined up with tractors on Monday and Tuesday was completely cleared of vehicles. The members of the UP Gate site committee, however, said that the gathering will grow in numbers in coming days and the protest will continue with the demand of repeal of three farm laws and a new law on minimum support price. “Some people had gone home since they were staying here for long while some had only come to attend the tractor rally. Many of them are from Uttarakhand and have gone to attend the cremation of the 25-year-old man who died driving tractor in Delhi near ITO on Tuesday. People here are upset about his death. So, there will be more protesters at the site in coming days,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, member of UP Gate farmers’ committee and a farmer leader from Uttarakhand. “There was laxity by police at the route of the tractor rally and even the youth were excited, but the route was not conveyed to them properly. When we reached the Red Fort, we called our protesters from there and brought them back,” he added. The committee members on Wednesday also made announcements from the dais and directed that those who have no intention to carry on peaceful protest must leave the site immediately. “We also took a ‘sankalp’ that we will carry our protest peacefully and we will also clear out all rumours. It is a major challenge which has been posed before us. The people who put up the flag at the Red Fort were not our farmers. There seems to be a propaganda and planning against our agitation,” Bajwa added. Some of the protesters who were part of the tractor rally said at the UP Gate on Wednesday that they were not clear about the route and the roads/directions in Delhi. “We went up to the Red Fort in tractors and roads were blocked everywhere. Finally, we had to go to Khajuri Pushta and then went to the Baghpat road. Farmers had absolutely no clues about the roads in Delhi. The first clash was at Vinod Nagar after which tractors went haywire and followed any route available,” said Vishakha Rajput, Hamirpur’s district president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). Many of the tractors which entered the Delhi Meerut Expressway entered the expressway lanes and found no exit point before Akshardham in Delhi. Many of them further went to Delhi. “We were not clear about the route for our tractor rally. Then, we were told to go to ITO where there was stone pelting. Then we moved forward and reached the Red Fort. We saw that people from Singhu Border had already reached there,” said Sanjeev Tomar, a protester from Khair in Aligarh.

Hindustan Times

27-01-2021

Noida