Farmers Movement Archive

Delhi: Farmers get LG nod to protest at Jantar Mantar from today

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has permitted protesting farmers to hold what they call the Kisan Sansad at Jantar Mantar in the heart of the city from Thursday till August 9. Before Delhi police commissioner Balaji Srivastava visited the city’s traditional protest space Wednesday to take stock of the situation, several layers of barricades had already been erected and paramilitary personnel deployed there. Security cameras at Jantar Mantar, close to Parliament House, have been inspected to ensure cops can monitor the situation. The protesters will be taken to the site in buses with police escorts. Strict observance of Covid-appropriate behaviour is to be enforced. The approval for the extension of the farmers’ protest from the border sites was given by the LG and DDMA chairperson Anil Baijal. DDMA has allowed a maximum of 200 protesters bearing identity cards at Jantar Mantar each day between 11am and 5pm. Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella organisation of farmers’ bodies, said the list of the 200 would be shared with police each day in order to avoid a repeat of the violence that broke out this January 26 when the agitating farmers had entered Delhi from their sit-in locations on the borders. At Jantar Mantar, protesters will be seated within a barricaded areaSpeaking to TOI, Darshan Pal, SKM leader, said “We have capped the number of people who will be protesting at 200. Each of the 200 will have to submit a photostat copy of their Aadhaar card for our scrutiny. We will give them identity cards to hang around their necks for quick identification. As Parliament’s monsoon session proceeds, our Kisan Sansad too will carry on from 11am to 5pm every day. In order to ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour, the 200 protestors will commute in five buses every morning.” There, the protesters will appoint a ‘speaker’ and ‘deputy speaker’ each day to coordinate the discussions on agrarian issues. “We want to protest peacefully,” said Pal. “The seating arrangement at Jantar Mantar has been done keeping social distancing requirements in mind. On July 26, when the movement completes eight months, only women protestors will participate here. On August 9, since it’s the anniversary of the Quit India Movement, we will conduct a special session at Jantar Mantar.” When TOI visited Singhu border, where the farmers have been protesting for over seven months now, meetings were being held on Wednesday to finalise the first list of 200 people to go to Jantar Mantar on Thursday for the Kisan Sansad. Verification of the Aadhaar cards was under way. Kisan Ekta Morcha has maintained that no political party will be allowed on stage, and its leaders reiterated that those who wished to support the farmers could be a part of their audience. On Thursday morning, the participating protestors will gather at the SKM office at Singhu and will be escorted to Jantar Mantar by a Delhi Police pilot team. At all times, the buses will move between a pilot and escort car till they reach Jantar Mantar. As a police officer explained, “Since the farmers are not on foot or in vehicles that could cause harm or inconvenience to the public, we saw no need for a traffic advisory.” Once the buses reach Jantar Mantar, the protesters will be seated within a barricaded area to avoid unnecessary public gathering there. In the evening, they will be driven back in the same manner. This exercise will continue till August 9. Chinmoy Biswal, PRO, Delhi Police, said, “After several rounds of negotiations with the farmer organisations, and on being assured in writing that they will remain peaceful, and with DDMA’s approval, the farmers have been permitted to protest at Jantar Mantar. They have been cautioned not to take out any march in view of the Covid restrictions.” All police personnel deployed on duty with senior officers as well as those in different cells are being kept on standby. An order issued by DCP (Headquarters) said that off duty staff should also be present in their homes with a maximum transit time of an hour to the protest site. “The mobile phones of all the personnel posted in the security unit will not be switched off at any cost,” the order said. Watch Delhi: Farmers get permission to protest at Jantar Mantar

The Times of India

2021-07-22

Delhi