Rewari: Nearly 3,000 farmers who had been protesting at Dharuhera’s Masani since January 3 moved back to Jaisinghpur Khera on Wednesday.
The farmers had been camping at Jaisinghpur Khera on the Rajasthan-Haryana border since December 13 and later moved towards Delhi when police stopped them near Sabi flyover at Masani. Since then, they had stayed put.
Masani villagers organised a panchayat on Wednesday and it was decided that the farmers would be asked to vacate the area. Lala Ram, the sarpanch of Masani, who headed the panchayat sabha, said the villagers have been “severely affected” due to the protest on the Delhi-Jaipur highway.
“Their work and employment have been hit due to the blockade and we demanded that the farmers shift immediately. Local shops are shut for the past 25 days, leading to financial hardships for many,” he said.
After the panchayat, a group of about 20 villagers met the farmers and asked them to leave the area.
“We are here for our demands. Our aim is not to hurt anyone, especially those who belong to the farmer community. When the villagers approached us and told us they were farmers and they have been facing issues due to the blockade, we decided to move back to our old protest site at Jaisinghpur Khera,” said Malkeet Singh, a farmer leader.
Sanjay Madav, a member of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, and the state convenor of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee in Rajasthan, said, “The villagers have raised some issues regarding their work and we understand that. We will continue the protest at Jaisinghpur Khera till our demands are fulfilled.”
On Thursday morning, Haryana Police decided to open both carriageways of the national highway.