Iron spikes, concrete walls pop up to quell protesters
Internet connectivity continued to be disrupted at all three borders with more farmers joining stir
NEW DELHI: The Delhi police have enhanced barricades at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur where thousands of farmers are protesting against three farm laws for over two months. While the iron spikes have been placed on the road leading to the main protest site at Tikri, besides heavy metal and concrete barriers, the police have created a wall at Singhu and Ghazipur by pouring concrete between two rows of cement barricades.
The measures were taken in the aftermath of clashes between the police and the protesters when the farmers during a tractor rally on Republic Day went beyond the routes approved by
the police by breaking barriers and barricades placed on the roads.
The internet connectivity continued to be disrupted at all the three borders on Monday even as more farmers from Haryana and Punjab joined the protest.
At Tikri, on the road towards Delhi, the police have overall set up a five-layer security system which begins right behind the main stage at the protest site. The first obstruction consists of
two layers of iron barricades. After that, the police have joined rows of cement barricades by filling the space between them with concrete. Beyond that, the police have dug up the road and installed iron spikes. Then, there are large trailers and dumpers serving as the fourth layer. And finally, a set of iron barricades forms the fifth layer of hurdles.
“This is one of the many measures being taken to instil confidence among the Delhiites and to reiterate our commitment to ensure the safety of life and property of citizens,” said A Koan, deputy commissioner of police (outer), when asked about the iron spikes on the road.
The protest site at Singhu border also has five layers of barricades with the first one nearly 1.5 km away from the main protest site. Only police vehicles were allowed beyond this point and locals as well as media personnel were only allowed on foot after stating their purpose of visit. Most of the locals were not allowed to enter unless they had an emergency.
On Monday, police officials were seen supervising the installation of concrete barricades with a cement mixer pouring concrete between two layers of barricading near the main stage area. The two layers were also joined with iron rods in between them to strengthen the barricading further. Containers at the spot have also been used to store concrete barriers. Several routes leading to the protest site were either barricaded, closed using concertina wires, or dug up restricting farmers’ movement.