Farmers Movement Archive

Protesters block Delhi-Meerut Expressway again, third time this week

Traffic on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) was disrupted for five hours on Saturday, as farmers protesting the three farm laws blocked the route at the Ghazipur-Ghaziabad (UP Gate) border. Protesters said they were angry over their supporters being blocked from joining them in different Uttar Pradesh districts. Since December 3, the protesters had blocked the Meerut to Delhi route on the Expressway. Over the last two days, the number of protesting farmers at the site had increased, and it was the third time that the traffic on Delhi to Meerut route was blocked this week.On Tuesday (December 22), the expressway remained closed for nearly 10 hours, while on Monday (December 21) traffic was disrupted for almost an hour.On Saturday, traffic on the route was hit between 11 am and 4 pm and diverted to other borders such as Anand Vihar, Apsara, Bhopura and Khoda. While the Delhi to Meerut route was freed of the blockade in the evening, the other carriageway remained blocked.Traffic on the roads had been affected for the past month when farmers from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were stopped at the UP Gate border by the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police. Farmers parked their tractor trolleys and other vehicles on the roads and set up camp there as part of their agitation for the repeal of the three laws. Saturday’s blockade was done mostly by the farmers’ groups from Uttarakhand. They claimed that the Uttar Pradesh administration and UP Police had been “harassing” farmers by stopping their vehicles at Uttarakhand-Uttar Pradesh border and in areas such as Rampur, Bilaspur and Pilibhit.“We were coming from Uttarakhand when our tractors and cars were stopped at the Uttar Pradesh border by the police and local administration. When we refused to return, they misbehaved with us. This has been happening for the past one week,” Gurjinder Singh, a farmer from Udham Singh Nagar.Another farmer from Uttarakhand Gurjan Singh said, “Nearly 100 tractors are still stuck in Rampur and Pilibit. Our protest is to condemn such acts. If they (UP administration) will stop us there, we will block the roads here at UP Gate.”“There was no law-and-order situation at UP-Gate. Farmers blocked the road and later opened it on their own,” said Vipin Kumar, city magistrate who was officiating as additional district magistrate (city). “Traffic and local police were deployed to ensure convenience of motorists at the border. Since the blockade was not during peak hours, it did not cause much problems,” said Deputy commissioner of police (east) Jasmeet Singh.The Singhu and Tikri borders where thousands of farmers are protesting continued to remain closed while one carriageway at the Chilla (Delhi-Noida link road) border is open for vehicles entering Delhi from Noida. Motorists going to Noida are being diverted to other borders such as DND, Kalindi Kunj, New Ashok Nagar, Kondli, and Dallupura.

Hindustan Times

27-12-2020

Delhi