Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers from Haryana and Rajasthan to march towards Capital

Farmer groups from Rajasthan and Haryana are likely to march towards Delhi via the Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH-48) on Sunday. Earlier this week, on Thursday, farmers had said they would block the Delhi-Jaipur national highway by December 12 and hold a nationwide protest on December 14 if the government did not roll back the farm laws. Azad Khan, Haryana vice-president, Bharatiya Kisan Union, said that state farmers will be joining their counterparts from Rajasthan and proceeding towards Delhi on Sunday. “Farmer groups from Rajasthan are coming towards Haryana. We will join them and gather at Shahjahanpur in Alwar near the Haryana-Rajasthan border by Saturday night and proceed towards Delhi on Sunday,” said Khan. He added that there was a lot of pressure from the administration and the government with heavy police deployment in the region. However, the farmers would strive to march peacefully. “We will continue to protest peacefully despite the pressure. More and more farmer groups have started joining the movement since the government refuses to listen to our demands,” said Khan. Swaraj India national president Yogendra Yadav also tweeted that farmers from Rajasthan and Haryana would gather at Kotputli in Rajasthan on Saturday and proceed for Delhi on Sunday through Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH-48) as part of the “Dilli Chalo” initiative. Farmer groups from Nuh and other districts such as Bawal are also expected to join the march.“Thousands of farmers will travel in the direction of Delhi along with hundreds of vehicles from Rajasthan-Haryana border of Shahjahanpur (Behror) on NH-8 at 11 am on December 13. The farmers of Rajasthan and Haryana will be joined by national-level farmer leaders,” said a spokesperson from Samyukta Kisan Morcha (a union of farmers). In view of the farmers’ movement, preventive measures are being taken in Gurugram. Around 100 farmers heading towards Gurugram were stopped by Haryana police at Bilaspur on Saturday. A few farmers were also detained by the police as a precautionary measure while most turned back on their own, said police officials. Across Gurugram, more than 2,000 police officials have been deployed and more than 120 checkpoints have been set up. Around 68 duty magistrates appointed by the district administration on Friday for the blockage of the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway also surveyed areas along KMP, NH-48, and routes connecting to Pataudi, Farrukhnagar, Jhajjar, Badli, Mewat, Faridabad and Delhi to check preparedness measures and spot possible farmer gatherings. On Saturday, Gurugram traffic police also prepared route diversion plans for multiple points on NH-48 such as Sirhaul toll, IFFCO Chowk, Bilaspur Chowk, and the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway to re-route traffic if the farmers’ block the highway. DCP traffic DK Bhardwaj said that traffic police officials have already been stationed at all the diverted routes from Saturday onwards to direct commuters to the nearest and correct routes if there is any congestion or blockade on the national highway. In Nuh, the district administration on Saturday imposed Section 144, restricting the gathering of more than five people at public places. As per the prohibitory order issued by Nuh deputy commissioner Dhirendra Khadgata, no individual is allowed to travel with lathis, sticks, spears or weapons of any kind.

Hindustan Times

13-12-2020

Gurugram