Barricades to open as Delhi police allow tractor rally
Commissioner urges peaceful cooperation of farmers; Punjab Cultural Council writes to Centre to repeal ‘black’ farmer laws and extend ex-gratia benefits to all 162 martyr farmers
The Delhi Police on Sunday said that ater several round of talks with the farmers groups, it has permited the tractor rally inside Delhi on Jan.26.
Police has said that the barricades would be lited at Singhu, Tikri and Gazipur borders on Jan.26 ater the Republic Day parade is over and the farmers would be allowed to enter upto 100km within Delhi with their tractors in a circular path on the routes discussed with the farmers.
The route specified is from Singhu Border to Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, Kanjhawala, Bawana to Auchadi.
From Tikri border, it will be to Nangloi, Najafgarh, Jharoda, Dhansa, Badli and the KMP and from Gazipur border to Apsara border to Hapur Road.
“We have told the farmers that the rally would start once the Republic Day parade is over. We expect with the cooperation of the farmers the rally would be peaceful,” Special Commissioner of Police, Intelligence, Deependra Pathak, said.
However, the police said that they are on alert ater intelligence inputs that various Twiter handles operating from across the border are active to disrupt the rally on Jan.26.
“According to our intelligence input, 308 Twiter handles have been generated from Pakistan to disrupt the rally to create disturbance. We are also concerned about the security of the rally given the threat perception,” he added.
Meanwhile, several batches of farmers from Punjab and Haryana set out on their tractortrolleys and other vehicles to take part in the proposed tractor rally on Jan.26 in the national capital. Tractor-trolleys have now become a common sight at the Singhu border as the farmers have started bringing in the tractors to the protest site from villages in Punjab for the proposed rally.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Utar Pradesh and other states have been protesting at multiple border points of Delhi at Singhu, Tikri and Gazipur borders since November-end. They are demanding a repeal of the three central farm laws passed by Parliament in September last year.
About 25,000 farmers from across Karnataka would lead a protest rally on Tuesday to Bengaluru from Nelamangla on the city’s outskirts in support of their counterparts’ tractor rally to New Delhi against the three farmers’ laws, said state’s farmers leader K Chandrashekar on Sunday.
“We have sought police permission to lead the protest rally in 10,000 tractors to Freedom Park in the city from Nelamangla in solidarity with our colleagues in the northern region who are going to Delhi in thousands of tractors, seeking repeal of the three anti-farmers laws,” Chandrashekar told reporters here.
“As Delhi police allowed thousands of farmers to enter the national capital in tractors for their protest rally ater the Republic Day parade, the city police should not prevent us from staging a similar rally,” asserted Chandrashekar, who is also the president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, an apex body of about 30 farmers’ associations across the southern state.
Farmers from Mandya, Mysuru, Kodagu, Hassan, Tumakuru, Chitradurga and many districts will participate in the protest rally against the three laws.
“The rally will also be in protest against the APMC Act and Land Reforms Act, the BJP government in Karnataka has amended recently, as they are also against farmers and growers,” reiterated Chandrashekar.
Urging the Central government to consider all martyred 162 farmers for ex-gratia benefits, the Punjab Cultural Council (PCC) on Sunday said it has writen to the Union Agricultural Minister to repeal “black” farmer laws and extend ex-gratia benefits to all 162 martyr farmers.
It has also asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to give personal intervention, thereby, helping the farmers at Delhi borders with proactive support.
In the leter, PCC chairman Harjeet Singh Grewal and vice chairman Tejinderpal Singh Nalwa said Punjab, Haryana, Utar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have already lost 149 lives during protests at the Delhi borders since Nov.25.
In addition, 13 farmers have sacrificed their lives in Punjab during “rail rook” stir since September 2019.