Farmers Movement Archive

Travelling from & to Ggn no less than a nightmare

New Delhi: Multi-layered barricades and heavy police scrutiny at the Rajokri border between Delhi and Haryana in view of the Bharat bandh called by protesting farmers hit traffic movement on Monday. Motors going to Gurgaon from Delhi and those coming to the capital from Haryana were caught in an interminable line of vehicles at the border point.The Rajokri border was a scene of utter chaos between 7am and 10am according to eyewitnesses. “There were several police pickets near the border areas and every vehicle wanting to cross the border was thoroughly checked, delaying movement and causing big snarls,” said one motorist.Barring two lanes of the highway, all other lanes were closed, causing a traffic gridlock stretching to over 400 metres, forcing commuters to idle for around half an hour before being able to traverse the stretch.The vehicles going towards Rewari were diverted from Panchagon (Manesar), Bilaspur and the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal on the Haryana side. “The protesting farmers had gathered at Jaisinghpur service lane between 9.30am and 10.30am,” said Ravinder Singh Tomar, DCP (traffic), Gurgaon. “We were forced then to divert vehicles from Taudu Road and Kundli-Manesar Palwal expressway to avoid inconvenience to the commuters.”With the congestion coinciding with the office travel hours, the commuters had a harrowing time. B Mohanty, a toll employee, said. “Commuters and travellers headed to the airport were struck and sought our help. We created a small passage for them, but that was the best we could do.” Toll employees also ensured a similar passage for two ambulances. Arun Rao, who was going from Gurgaon to Delhi, grumbled, “I got stuck near the Ambience mall, the traffic was moving very slow. It took me over 40 minutes to cross that stretch. The police were creating a lot of chaos by randomly checking vehicles,” said Arun Rao who was commuting from Gurgaon to Delhi.Haryana Police personnel claimed success in preventing farmers from reaching the Rajokri border. “Our teams were deployed from 7am to manage the snarls. Senior Delhi and Haryana government officials were also engaged in coordinating efforts,” a police officer said. The pickets were removed after three hours. “Once the barricades were taken away around 10am, traffic began to flow more smoothly,” said a commuter. A Delhi Police officer said the barricades were removed given the logjam on both sides of the border. Sources confirmed that senior officers of the police forces of the two states conferred before the barricades were removed.The heavy deployment of police at the border was in view of the Bharat bandh call given for Monday by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, which has been protesting against the three farm laws enacted by the Centre.

The Times of India

2021-09-28

Delhi