NEW DELHI: Farmers agitating at Tikri border said on Wednesday that they would not resume talks with the central government until all missing farmers were traced and electricity and water supply restored at the protest sites.
Charanjeet Singh, Shri Muktsar Sahib district president of All India Kisan Sabha, said this was the unanimous decision of all the farmers’ unions at Singhu border. “Many of our members are missing and the unions are making all effort to find them, including through correspondence/meetings with Delhi Police and government officials,” said Singh. “The central government is also trying to suppress the movement by cutting electricity and water supply. This is unfair and we will not resume talks unless these issues are addressed.”
The farmers at Tikri also formed a seven-member legal committee to talk with the Centre and Delhi Police on behalf of families whose members were missing after the tractor rally of January 26. Prem Singh Bhangu, convenor of the legal panel, said, “We are trying to figure out the exact number of people in judicial or police custody and those still untraced. Our IT cell is also spreading awareness about the legal committee through social media. We met Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday and requested him to demand a judicial inquiry into the matter through a retired high court judge and to write to the Union home ministry about this.”
In the rear of the protest dais at Singhu, three advocates are fielding queries from families and helping them with contacts. The panel is also working on bail for the farmers in police custody since January 26.
On Wednesday, Delhi Police extended its security measures at Tikri border, including erection of a concrete wall and installing of spikes on the road, by barricading the internal roads too. Entry was allowed from select roads for two-wheelers and pedestrians only, causing a lot of inconvenience to the local residents. Internet services continued to be suspended.
“Till January 26, we could at least bring our two wheelers here,” complained grocer Pawan Bansal, resident of Bahadurgarh in Haryana. “I now have to take Delhi Metro or public transport and walk to some extent. This wastes a lot of my time.”
Rajesh, a Rohtak resident, similarly pointed to the two concrete slabs that now allowed only a two-wheeler or two people to use the lane in front of his footwear shop. “The situation has not only affected my sales, but also made commuting problematic,” he said. “After 5.30pm, there’s a traffic jam and people fight with each other even to cross the road.”
The farmers at Tikri, meanwhile, claimed that though the Centre might have put up fortifications to stop their entry into Delhi, they would hold a 'chakka jam' in and around Delhi on February 6. “We are carrying out our protest peacefully, but police have unnecessarily created a ruckus by installing loud speakers near the dais to create disturbance,” said Satpal Singh, a farmer from Shri Muktsar Sahib district, Punjab. “We will anyhow carry out the chakka jam as decided to express our anger against the anti-farmers' laws and demand their repeal.”