‘Pressure tactics by Gzb admin to evict protesters’
Power, water supply to UP Gate protest site snapped, mobile toilets removed; fear of ‘police action’ keeps farmers awake
GHAZIABAD: Farmers at the UP Gate protest site said they feared a police action as well as a move to evict them from the site since Wednesday night, even as several announcements were made from the protest dais to call in more farmers from home districts. Farmer leaders said that electricity connections to the site were snapped late Wednesday, while water supply from tankers was allegedly stopped by the local administration in order to “pressure” them to vacate the site.
The farmers, however, stood firm, saying that they will not budge and will continue to occupy the site till the police come and arrest them. They added that the government was “trying every trick in the book” to persuade them to leave.
“The electricity was disconnected at the site at 10pm on Wednesday and the water supply was also stopped. However, we ran our public address systems with the help of generators. They have been trying such tactics since Wednesday so that we give up on our protest,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, a farmer leader from Uttarakhand and a member of UP Gate protest site committee.
Fearing heavy handedness by the police after power went out, the farmers said they sent out messages to the media as well as other farmers late Wednesday.
District magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey did not respond to calls and messages over the issue.
Inspector General (Meerut range) Praveen Kumar and Ghaziabad senior superintendent of police Kalanidhi Naithani also did not take calls.
Power supply at the UP Gate protest site was being provided to the protesters for the past two months by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The farmers had cut open street light connections and had been drawing electricity since
the start of their protest in November.
When approached, Mudit Garg, the project director, Delhimeerut Expressway, declined any comments as to why electricity was snapped suddenly while it was kept running for the past two months. “We have removed some of the water tankers and mobile toilets from the protest site and more will be moved out on Friday,” said KK Bhadana, the executive officer of the Khoda Nagar Palika which supplied mobile toilets and water tankers to the farmers at UP Gate.
“After power was cut off, groups of youngsters here kept watch till the morning as there was fear that the police would come and arrest us. However they did not come. It seems they have been trying to terrorise us into submission, to get us to leave. Even if more people get killed, we are ready. But we will not leave,” said Natthu Singh, an 84-year-old farmer from Moradabad.
While farmer leaders continued to give speeches from the dais on Thursday afternoon on the Ghaziabad-delhi carriageway of the Delhi-meerut Expressway, security personnel carried out a march on the other side.
A heavy contingent of police and security personnel was deployed near the protest site at
UP Gate since Thursday morning.
Rakesh Tikait, farmer leader and Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson, also lashed out at the district administration.
“If they think that they can cut off power and water supply and pressurise us to leave, they are wrong. The protest will continue. If they want my arrest, they can send officials and talk to us. Everyone knows there has been a conspiracy to defame our protesters, following incidents in Delhi,” Tikait said.
“The perpetrators have come to light and they must be punished. Our protest has been peaceful and we never resorted to violence,” he added.
HT has learnt from sources that directions for action at the UP Gate site were allegedly received from the “top level” in the Uttar Pradesh government.
“It seems that the farmer leaders are trying to buy time to reorganise and are waiting for their supporters to come back from their respective districts. Officials also know that once the gathering swells again at UP Gate, it will be difficult to evict protesters from the site. Further, they do not want any untoward situation such as clashes to take place,” said an officer from the local intelligence unit, not authorised to speak with the media.
Shailendra Kumar Singh, additional district magistrate
{ RAKESH TIKAIT } SPOKESPERSON, BKU
If they want my arrest, they can send officials and talk to us. Everyone knows there has been a conspiracy to defame our protests, after incidents in Delhi.
(city), said that the electricity supply was snapped but it can be resumed.
“The protesters are sitting illegally over a public place and we snapped the electricity and water supply, but it can be restored. They have been asked to leave the site so that normalcy can be restored,” he said.
According to official estimates, the gathering at the UP Gate site was about about 1,000 to 1,200 on Thursday.
“The government has all the power and they are trying to use it to pressurise farmers. If they want to take action, they must tell us. If they want to arrest us, we will not hesitate. We have repeatedly approached the government for the past seven months with our demands, but they never listened to us. After incidents in Delhi, they also slapped FIRS on our leaders,” said Hannan Mollah, general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, when asked about the situation at the UP Gate protest site. “After the incidents in Delhi on Republic Day, we have decided that we will hold an ‘anshan’ (fast) on January 30 and thereafter, we will decide what all needs to be done for the ongoing agitation,” he added.
Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday evening said he initially decided that he will court arrest, but took a U-turn later and decided to continue with the protest, refusing to vacate the site.