Traffic movement on Jaipur-Delhi highway partially hit for 8th day due to farmers’ stir

Jaipur, December 20

Traffic movement on the Jaipur-Delhi highway remained partially affected for the eighth consecutive day on Sunday due to an agitation by farmers against the Centre’s three farm laws.

Braving intense cold, the farmers have been sitting on a carriageway of the highway in Shahjahanpur near the Rajasthan-Haryana border.

The carriageway has been blocked for traffic and Delhi-bound vehicles are being diverted through other routes, a police officer said.

The carriageway for Jaipur-bound traffic is open, the police officer added.

The protest is being led by Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav, former CPI(M) MLA Amra Ram and other farmer leaders.

At the protest site, the farmers observed ‘Shradhanjali Diwas’ on Sunday to pay homage to their brethren who died during the ongoing agitation.

Amra Ram said hundreds of people, many of them led by Jat Mahasabha president Rajaram Meel, joined the protest in Shahjahanpur and extended their support the movement.

He said the movement will continue till the government accepts their demand for repeal of the farm laws.

Farmers are protesting against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. PTI