Police cut off Singhu border from Capital
With increased deployment of security personnel, four-layered barricading on the main highway connecting Delhi with Haryana, and trenches dug up on the adjacent roads, the Singhu border protest site’s connectivity with the Capital remained snapped throughout Sunday, leading to disruptions in supplies and movement of people.
As internet services remained suspended in and around the Singhu border protest venue – thousands are agitating against three contentious farm laws at the site – for the third consecutive day, farmers alleged that the step was taken to stop their voices from reaching the rest of the world.
“It (the government) wants to spread its false spin around farmers. It is also fearful of the coordinated work of the farmers’ unions across different protest sites and is trying to cut off communication means between them. This is undemocratic and illegal,” Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of 40 farmers unions that are part of the agitation against the three contentious farm laws, said in a statement on Sunday.
As per the government’s order, internet services at three borders points – Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur – were suspended from January 29 till 11pm on Sunday. The police denied allegations that the Singhu area was completely cut off, saying that movement and supplies of essential items continued through alternative routes.
“As the police have blocked all the roads and sub-lanes and
not allowing us to cross over, we have not been able to use the portable toilets or the water tankers arranged by the Delhi government since yesterday (Saturday). We are now completely dependent on the toilets and water supplies of local residents,” said Dilbagh Singh, a farmer from Punjab’s Sangrur, who has been running a langar at the border point,
close to the police’s barricades.
Questioning the cordoning off of the protest sites, the SKM said it was being done to disrupt basic supplies such as food and water. “All these various attacks of the government are recognised by us as such, and we condemn the same,” read the SKM’s statement.
CHANDIGARH : Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has called an all-party meeting on Tuesday to evolve a consensus on the way forward on the issue of the ongoing agitation against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws in view of the recent developments in Delhi.
An official spokesperson said the meeting will be held in Chandigarh wherein the parties will discuss the situation in the wake of the Republic Day violence, the Singhu border attack on protesters and the vilification campaign against farmers.
Urging all parties to join the meeting in a show of solidarity with the farmers, the CM said the crisis triggered by the farm laws was a matter of concern.
“Only through collective efforts of all Punjabis and all political parties, this crisis can be tackled and the farmers’ interests protected. Our farmers are dying at the Delhi borders for more than 2 months now. They are being beaten by the police and assaulted by goons. They are being deprived of basic amenities,” he said.
A large number of farmers from Punjab are at the receiving end, he added.
“All political parties will put aside their differences to find a solution. This is the time to come together to save our state and our people,” he stressed.