Gurgaon/Ghaziabad: Hundreds of women who have been undergoing weeks of training on how to drive tractors set out for the Singhu and Tikri borders from various parts of the state to participate in the farmers’ march on Republic Day.
From Jind alone, there were 500 tractors being driven by women on Sunday. According to the plan, women from various districts of Haryana will lead the march to Singhu and Tikri a night before the tractor rally on Outer Ring Road. Farmers from various states have been assembling at the protest sites across NCR to take part in the January 26 rally. At UP Gate, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait alleged that tractors heading to the protest site were being denied fuel across UP. He threatened to shut malls and other commercial establishments if farmers were stopped anywhere in the state.
Rajbala Yadav (63), a member of Jan Kisan Andolan, is one of those women who would be at the forefront of the march. “Already, more than 2,000 women from various states have reached the borders. From Haryana, we are seeing an overwhelming turnout of women, who are driving and coming to the protest sites,” she added.
Around 6,000 tractors in total — 500 driven by women — from Jind left for the Tikri. Carrying national flags, banners, posters and ration for at least a month, the women gathered at Khatkar toll plaza on NH-71 on Sunday afternoon. From there, BKU leaders directed them about the route plan to reach Tikri. The women were told to lead the march. In Mewat, farmer leaders have decided to conduct a circuit rally starting from Sunhera-Jurehra near Punhana to Palwal via Badkali and Nuh. They have claimed over 2,000 farmers, among them 200 women, will gather at the protest site of the Haryana-Rajasthan Mewati Kisan Morcha at Sunhera-Jurehra by Monday night.
The Gurgaon chapter of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha has said over 2,000 farmers in more than 250 tractors would join the rally on January 26 morning.
Meanwhile, at UP Gate, farmers in thousands of tractors have gathered and will march to Delhi on Tuesday. Protesters from Odisha, Bihar and Maharashtra, besides Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and UP, have come to participate in the rally.
However, BKU spokesperson Tikait said their supporters were being denied diesel for tractors. “Many petrol pumps are refusing to give fuel and our supporters are stuck at many places. In such cases, farmers should stage protests outside fuel stations,” Tikait said, holding up a mobile phone showing a photo of a poster saying fuel will not be given to tractors.
“Do not do such things or we will hold a bigger movement. Everything will be closed in UP, and there will be no collection at toll plazas,” he added.