Farmers Movement Archive

Barricades come off at UP Gate site, farmers to decide on future course

Commuters on Friday continued to face traffic snarls on the Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway even after the Delhi Police started removing heavy barricades from the UP Gate the same day, where farmers have been protesting against the three controversial farm laws since November 2020. Following the development, farmer leaders were non-committal whether they would vacate the roads near the UP Gate or not, and said that their umbrella body -- Samyukta Kisan Morcha -- will take a call on this.The UP Gate protest site has been occupied by the protesting farmers for almost 11 months now, as they have been demanding roll back of the three farm laws since November last year. They have been camping on the lanes of the Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway, underpass area of the UP Gate flyover, with their temporary tents being lined up till Noida’s Khora Colony.On October 21, 2021, some farmers had removed a temporary tent below the UP-Gate flyover and claimed that the Delhi police blocked the road and not the farmers. In the next move, the Delhi police started removing heavy barricades using reinforced concrete boulders, iron spikes and barbed wires.In a statement issued on Friday evening, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha reiterated their stand over the blockades and said that the “stand of the farmers is vindicated”. “It is the police who have barricaded and blocked the roads and not the farmers, and this is something that the farmers have explained in the past too. The protesters had traffic movement in the past too, and will continue to do the same. We are talking about the protest site near the Tikri border and the Ghazipur border (UP Gate),” it said.“Police have fortified the morcha sites by placing huge cement boulders, multiple layers of metal barricades, sand trucks, and multiple layers of nails across the roads. In the latest narrative that they are trying to give a spin, partial removal of these barricades is being taken up, ostensibly to impress the Supreme Court of India,” it added.The UP Gate site is one of the several sites, including different borders of Delhi, where the farmers have been camping to protest the farm laws.On October 21 this year, the Supreme Court had said that the farmers have the right to protest, but cannot block roads indefinitely. The court was hearing a petition filed by a Noida resident, who urged the protesters to move away from the roads across the National Capital Region (NCR) as “their agitation takes a toll in daily commuting”.The court had also granted a three-week time period to the farmer unions to file their response, and listed the next date of hearing on December 7 this year.“Ultimately, a solution has to be found. We are not averse to their right to protest even when a legal challenge is pending, but roads cannot be blocked,” the court had said.Amid the scenario, the commuters feel that they are suffering the most as commuting on the DME did not resume yet. “The situation on ground remains as it is at the UP Gate as the road is still not open for commuting as the farmers are camping there. The courts must take a look at this and come to the rescue of the citizens. As a result of the situation at the UP Gate, thousands of commuters travel via Kaushambi, and the local residents are affected due to traffic snarls and pollution. It seems like resumption of commuting via those routes will take more time,” said VK Mittal, president of Kaushambi apartments RWA.The DME stretch comprising the UP Gate sees movement of about 60,000 passenger car units per day, and it is also a key area for diversion of the Ghaziabad-bound traffic to different localities, like Vaishali, Kaushambi, Indirapuram and Sahibabad. “It has been almost 11 months since the commuters are suffering, and there is absolutely no respite for thousands of them who use the UP Gate route. The situation at the UP Gate also shows how easy it is to block the highway for 11 months, and get away so easily. With farmers occupying the area, removal of barricades will not solve the purpose. The highway was built for commuters and it should be opened for the commuters only,” said Alok Kumar, founder member of Federation of Association of Apartment Owners.Meanwhile, the Ghaziabad police has also put up barricades near Indirapuram and Pratap Vihar, and the traffic is diverted to Noida Sector 62. The stretch from Pratap Vihar to the UP Gate is about 10 kilometres and is not open for the commuters. “The barricades have been put up so that the commuters don’t reach the UP Gate where the farmers are camping. It may cause law-and-order problems. Commuting will not resume unless the framers vacate the site. For this, our officials are in touch with the farmer leaders,” said Ramanand Kushawaha, superintendent of police (Ghaziabad traffic police).Farmer leaders said that they were occupying the road as the Delhi police had put up barricades there.“The Samyukta Kisan Morcha will take a call on the removal of barricades by the Delhi police. The dismantling of barricades shows that it was the police who blocked the highway and not the farmers,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, UP Gate site spokesperson of Samyukta Kisan Morcha.Senior Delhi police officials, who reached the UP Gate site on Friday, said that it was their first action since the protest started. “We want that commuting on the highway be resumed. We are in touch with the protesting farmers, and we will request them to ensure that the way for commuters should be opened. We have started removing barricades from there,” Deepandra Pathak, Delhi’s special commissioner of police (law and order) told reporters at the UP Gate on Friday.

Hindustan Times

30-10-2021

Noida