Farmers Movement Archive

Protesters detained at Rewari, farmers barred from entering Gurugram

At least 10 protesters were detained by the Rewari police at Banipur Chowk in Bawal, some 64 kilometres from Gurugram on Monday afternoon, while they were on their way to Delhi to join the farmers’ agitation.There was a clash between police and farmers when they allegedly tried to move towards the expressway to head towards Gurugram. The police said the protesting farmers had not approached the city yet, but they have deployed a large contingent of personnel on the expressway to maintain law and order, and manage traffic.According to the police, farmers from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Rewari, Mahendergarh, and Nuh had gathered at the Banipur Chowk in Bawal on Friday morning in their cars, tractor-trolleys and motorbikes.Abhishek Jorwal, Rewari superintendent of police, said that farmers had held a mahapanchayat and blocked the National Highway 48, which resulted in traffic congestion. “Within minutes, the police personnel removed them from the highway and some local farmer leaders were also put in preventive detention, following which they started protesting on service lanes. The detained leaders were set free in four hours,” he said.The police said the protestors had stationed their tractor trolleys and cars on the highway to block the stretch and had started assembling but the police teams managed to intervene and clear the stretch.Traffic movement was slowed down from Bawal to Shahjahanpur in Rajasthan for more than five hours despite heavy deployment on the stretch.Satnarayan Nehra, the president of Nehra Khap (84 villages) of Haryana, said that more than 1,000 farmers had gathered at Bawal to march towards Delhi but Rewari police did not let them cross the junction and had detained the leaders. “The police cannot stop us from supporting farmers who are protesting at Delhi border points for the past 18 days over the Centre’s farm laws. We will increase the numbers to ensure the strength is enough to cross the stretch or force entry into Delhi. We will intensify the protest on Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said.Security has been strengthened on the 78-kilometre stretch with multilayered barricades at all intersections of the highway in view of the protest called by the farmers.On Monday, a group of civil society members came together under the banner of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha Gurugram and handed over a memorandum seeking a roll back of the three laws to the district administration. Addressed to the President, the memorandum stated that the three farm laws were not in the interests of farmers. The memorandum stated that the laws would put an end to mandis (APMC system).RS Rathee, president of the Gurugram Citizen Council and municipal councillor for Ward 34, said that if the government doesn’t agree to the farmers’ demands, they will join the protest at Bawal on Wednesday. “This is the biggest farmers’ movement. We are involving all farmer bodies and workers’ unions to gather in big numbers and march towards Delhi,” he said.Nikita Gehlot, the deputy commissioner of police (Manesar), said that the farmers have yet not tried to enter Gurugram jurisdiction and were stopped in Rewari and at the Rajasthan border. “We are well prepared and our teams are deployed at all borders to control the farmers’ movement. We will not let any group cross the stretch towards Delhi. We are keeping a track on their movement and teams are on standby,” she said.Police said the traffic movement on Delhi-Jaipur Expressway at the Haryana- Rajasthan interstate border, at Shahjahanpur, slowed from 1pm to 4pm. Around 600 farmers had gathered in the morning and sat on a dharna.Mahavir Yadav, a protestor from Mahendergarh, said they are waiting for at least 2,500 farmers to gather, following which they will march towards Delhi to join their counterparts.Trade unions have urged farmers and their families to support their counterparts in Delhi in large numbers. More than 300 police personnel are deployed at the spot to ensure no untoward incident takes place, the police said. (with inputs from Sadia Akhtar)

Hindustan Times

14-12-2020

Gurugram