‘Chakka jam’ passes off largely peacefully

Heavy deployment ensures no untoward incident; ‘not going back until demands are met’, says farmer leader Rakesh Tikait

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Delhi turned into a virtual fortress on Saturday amid heavy deployment of security forces as farmers protesting against three contentious agricultural laws held demonstrations in some states including Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan as part of a three-hour “chakka jam”, even though no demonstrations were held in the national capital.

Thousands of farmers across the country blocked roads with vehicles and boulders to demand a repeal of the three laws, with no major incidents of violence being reported. The government and farm unions have not been able to find a solution to the stand-off over 11 rounds of talks, and the farmers have rejected a proposal by the Centre to put the laws on hold for 18 months.

On Republic Day, farmer groups broke through barricades, clashed with the Delhi Police and stormed the Red Fort, hoisting the Nishan Sahib, the flag of the Sikhs, on its ramparts.

While the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmers unions spearheading the agitation, said earlier that the “chakka jam”, or road blockade, would not impact Delhi and the national capital region (NCR), there was heavy police deployment across the Capital, with at least 40,000 personnel standing guard at various spots. Mobile internet services were again suspended at three border points – Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri – until Saturday night, according to a Union home ministry order.

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait declared that their protest on

Delhi’s outskirts will continue till October 2 and an effort will be made to “connect every village” with the agitation. He said inputs were received regarding some “miscreants trying to disrupt peace” during the “chakka jam”. “Because of these inputs, we had decided to call off the ‘chakka jam’ in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand,” the 51-yearold Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, credited with reviving the

farmers’ stir after the Republic Day violence, said.

After the “chakka jam” concluded, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha said on Saturday evening that the protest once again proved that farmers across the country were united against the three central farm laws. It said the call for “chakka jam” received huge support across the country.

Shouting slogans against the

Centre and the three farm laws, many farmers parked their tractor-trailers and blocked roads in Punjab and Haryana, impacting highways including ChandigarhZirakpur, Amritsar-Pathankot, Tarn Taran-Kapurthala, Ferozepur-Fazilka, Muktsar-Kotkapura, Bathinda-Chandigarh, Ludhiana-Jalandhar, Panchkula-Pinjore and Ambala-Chandigarh.

SAKIB ALI/HT PHOTO BKU leader Rakesh Tikait gestures to security personnel during the ‘chakka jam’ protest called by farm unions, at Ghazipur border on Saturday.