Farmers Movement Archive

No permit to enter Delhi made us block border, say protesting farmers

NEW DELHI: The farmers sitting in protest for almost a year against the three contentious farm laws enacted by the central government insisted on Saturday that they had not impeded the movement of vehicles at Singhu border. Their remonstration came after the Supreme Court said on Saturday that they were strangulating the capital. The farmers argued that Delhi Police did not allow them to enter the city, thus forcing them to sit-in at the border. Holding aloft a flag, 63-year-old Sadhu Singh and his 70-year-old friend, Nichatra Singh, listened stolidly to the allegations that they had stopped vehicular movement on the highway. “We have never blocked the road. It was the police that put up the barricades,” declared Sadhu, adding that they had, in fact, helped to clear the traffic snarls on several occasions. Many other protesting farmers nodded their heads in corroboration. At the protest site, langar was being distributed and a man dressed as Mahatma Gandhi was roaming around, probably in respect of Gandhi Jayanti on Saturday. He identified himself as Santosh Gandhi, a resident of Madhya Pradesh. “I urge people to support the farmers’ demands," he said. Subegh Singh, 75, reiterated that the agitators hadn’t created trouble for the local citizenry. “We regularly distribute food to poor people and to labourers and their children. They come to the protest site to get food," he said. Meanwhile, 80-year-old Gurmeet Singh, who has been at the agitation site since November last year, quietly, but firmly, said, “We will not leave this place until all our demands are met.” Meanwhile, Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the farmers’ organisation spearheading the protest, alleged that the highways had been blocked by the BJP government’s police. "The central government knows that the protest can be resolved if it accepts the legitimate demands of the farmers. But it has chosen not to do so, even though hundreds of farmers have been martyred,” an SKM member said. Yudhvir Singh, SKM leader, said they wanted to shift to Delhi's Ramlila Maidan to stage the protest but were stopped by police at the borders, which they then decided to turn into agitation spots. Asked whether the protest was causing problems for local people, Yudhvir retorted, “We are getting massive support from the people.” He also said that farmers regularly rotated their presence at the borders, with some returning home for farming duties. "In their absence, new faces join the protest," said Yudhvir. He added that all precautions had been taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, on Saturday, TOI observed no mask-wearing for physical distancing among the protesters. Brijendra Kumar Yadav, DCP (Outer North), said commuters had been advised alternative routes from Singhu border. "Due to the protest, we have also had to divert vehicles,” he said. Yadav added that after they were taken by surprise by the events of January 26, police had to put barricades to ensure order and to prevent reckless behaviour.

The Times of India

2021-10-02

Delhi