Farmers allowed to enter Delhi after border clashes
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: A day after facing water cannons and tear gas shells en route to Delhi, thousands of farmers gathered at various entry points into the national capital were allowed in on Friday to hold a peaceful protest at a designated spot, defusing some of the tension building up since morning around Delhi’s edges.
The concession came after violent standoffs that saw police block the farmers from entering the Capital as part of the “Delhi Chalo” march against the Centre’s new farm laws.
“After holding discussion with farmer leaders, the protesting farmers have been permitted inside Delhi to hold peaceful protest at Nirankari Ground in Burari. We appeal to all farmers to maintain peace,” said Delhi Police PRO Eish Singhal.
At the Tikri border, farmers were escorted by police personnel amid tight security around 3 pm and taken towards the Nirankari Ground, one of the biggest in the city. But those gathered at the Singhu border, one of the main routes used to access the city from Punjab, had not entered the city till evening.
As the issue snowballed, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said no government in the world can stop farmers fighting the “battle of truth”.
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh welcomed the Union government’s decision to allow the farmers to enter Delhi to exercise their democratic right to protest.
Earlier in the day, clashes broke out at multiple places and Delhi’s borders resembled a virtual battle zone with restless crowds of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, milling around and a sea of police personnel keeping them at bay. Drones circled the air and plumes of smoke from teargas shells could be seen from far.
Beyond the border points, the
tension spilled over on highways where groups of farmers squatted on the road, and stood in trucks and tractors, waiting impatiently to make their way into the national capital. At the Singhu border, multi-layer barricading, including sand laden trucks and water cannons, was put up to block the farmers. Delhi Police used teargas to disperse farmers who had reached Singhu. At Tikri, a few kilometres away, some farmers used a tractor to pull away a truck placed as a barricade to prevent them from entering the city.
Hundreds of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh were also moving towards Delhi from Greater Noida to join the protest. Delhi Police, which had expressed concern over the pandemic situation in the city, had sought permission from the AAP government to use the city’s nine stadiums as temporary jails for farmers arrested or detained but this was denied.
Farmers have demanded a repeal of three laws enacted by Parliament in September which, together, allow agribusinesses to freely trade farm produce without restrictions. Farmers say this would make them vulnerable to exploitation and weaken the minimum support price system.
HUNDREDS OF FARMERS FROM WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH WERE ALSO MOVING TOWARDS DELHI