Kisan rally: Nearly 20,000 farmers march to Delhi with 15 demands, city borders barricaded

A massive march of farmers will seek to enter the national capital from Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday to press for their 15-point charter of demands even as police, anticipating trouble, have set up heavy barricading on the borders and imposed prohibitory orders across east and northeast Delhi to stop them.

An estimated 20,000 farmers, led by Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, are marching from Haridwar to New Delhi with their demands including loan waivers, clearance of pending sugarcane payments and implementation of the Swaminathan Committee Report. Arriving in Ghaziabad on Monday evening, the farmers are camping near Sahibabad as two UP ministers, Suresh Rana and Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, have arrived there for talks.

“We will continue our march till our demands are met. The talks (with the ministers) should go on. Whenever we feel that our work is done, we will stop our protest. If farmers are given an assurance, they will be happy. We have already given four years to the government to meet our demands. It is time that our demands are met,” Tikait said.

The farmers have also demanded loan waivers and free electricity for running tubewells. They said the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna should be made applicable to all crops and premium must be paid by the government.

The other demands include the assurance of a minimum income for farmers and a monthly pension of Rs 5,000 for small and marginal farmers who completed 60 years of age. They have also demanded rehabilitation of families of farmers who had committed suicide.

The farmers also want that diesel tractors should be kept out of the ambit of National Green Tribunal directions that have mandated the removal of all diesel vehicles older than 10 years from the National Capital Region.

Delhi police have imposed prohibitory orders in the areas bordering Uttar Pradesh anticipating law and order problems.

“A large number of protesters are likely to reach Delhi from bordering areas of east district. This may create law and order situation and may create chaos and endanger human life and property in the area,” said deputy commissioner of police (east) Pankaj Singh.

With protesters are moving towards the national capital in hundreds of tractor-trolleys and private vehicles, he said: “There is a possibility that they might be carrying sticks/lathis/cans and possibility of them turning unruly on slightest provocation cannot be ruled out”.

Meanwhile commuters in east Delhi as well as Noida and Ghaziabad are likely to face a harrowing time on the roads with traffic jams and chaos.

Areas such as Preet Vihar, Jagatpuri, Shakarpur, Madhu Vihar, Ghazipur, Mayur Vihar, Mandawli, Pandav Nagar, Kalyanpuri and New Ashok Nagar police station limits will be the worst affected by this. Police said that spillover jams are also likely to be seen around Laxmi Nagar, Mayur Vihar phases-I and II, Akshardham Road and Vikas Marg.

The Delhi Traffic Police also warned the commuters that the traffic is likely to be thrown out of gear in south Delhi.

As a precautionary measure, commuters going towards Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Muzafarnagar, Roorkee, and Haridwar have been advised to avoid the Meerut Expressway (Ghazipur border) and alternative routes from the Ghazipur chowk, Road number 56 towards ISBT Anand Vihar, Apsara Border, GT Road, Mohan Nagar, and Ghaziabad have been suggested.

First Published: Oct 02, 2018 07:21 IST