Farmers Movement Archive

Noida-Delhi side at Chilla border opens for traffic; farmers continue protest

Noida: The Noida-Delhi carriageway at Chilla border, which had been closed by a group of farmers for the past 12 days, was reopened for traffic early Sunday morning. The traffic is now open on both sides at the Chilla border, senior police officers said.The development comes after members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union-Bhanu, who had blocked the traffic since December 1 in protest against the Centre’s new farm bills, met with defence minister Rajnath Singh and agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Delhi on Saturday evening. Thakur Bhanu Pratap, president of BKU-Bhanu, said, “A number of commuters faced problems due to traffic diversion. On Saturday, we met defence minister Rajnath Singh and agriculture minister Narendra Tomar. The two ministers have assured us that the farmers’ issues will be addressed. Besides, the police officials in Noida requested us to clear the road and allow traffic towards Delhi. We do not want to trouble commuters and hence we have cleared the road.” However, Pratap said that this does not mean the protest has ended. “The protest and traffic movement will continue parallelly,” he said.Meanwhile, the farmers led by BKU-Bhanu’s state president Thakur Yogesh Pratap are continuing protest along the central verge on the same route. Yogesh Pratap also started a hunger strike from Sunday. A ‘havan’ was also performed at the Chilla border on Sunday by the protesting farmers. A spot visit on Sunday showed that the protesters were still stationed along the central verge under a tent. The police have placed barricades at some distance which narrowed the traffic to one lane and reserved some space for protesters. The BKU-Bhanu workers have also parked several SUVs and cars on the road for safety of protesters at the spot. “The police personnel convinced my father to clear the Noida-Delhi road. But farmers have planned to intensify the protest till the demands are met. I am observing hunger strike from Sunday,” Yogesh Pratap said. Ganesh Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gautam Budh Nagar, said that the Noida-Delhi route has been cleared. “We have placed barriers to guide the commuters to Delhi. The traffic police personnel have been deployed to ensure smooth commuting. The Delhi-Noida traffic is already functional,” he said.Teams of the Delhi Police have also been deployed on the Mayur Vihar side, the Noida police said, adding that the traffic movement on the DND Flyway and the Kalindi Kunj route, both connecting Noida to Delhi, was also normal on Sunday.Meanwhile, the BKU (Lok Shakti) members at the Dalit Prerna Sthal said that they will hold a hunger strike on Monday. Dr SK Giri, general secretary and spokesperson of BKU (Lok Shakti), said, “We will continue our protest against the farm bills. We will sit on a hunger strike on Monday.”The farmers from different organisations have been protesting at various borders with Delhi against the Centre’s three new agri bills -- Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Hindustan Times

13-12-2020

Noida