The Delhi Chalo march continues today, and thousands of farmers have vowed to continue their protest. The Centre and farmer leaders are also preparing for a third round of discussions.

Union Ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal, and Nityanand Rai are scheduled to have a video conference with the protesting farmer union representatives today.
Following the failure of previous discussions between the two parties with no outcomes, farmers began their protest march on Tuesday, February 13.

According to a report, senior Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Arjun Munda met on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing farmer protests and associated matters. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a former agriculture minister, and Munda, who presently governs the Agriculture Ministry and has previously engaged in meetings with farmer groups, discussed a range of farmer concerns during the meeting, the specifics of which have not yet been made public.

A nationwide strike is scheduled for February 16, according to Harmeet Singh Kadian of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kadian) and the Punjab Chapter of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). In addition, there will be protests on February 15 from 11 AM to 2 PM at toll plazas throughout Punjab.

Meanwhile, security personnel at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana used tear gas to scatter farmers who were trying to break through barricades. In response, a few protesters threw stones. A police drone was observing the protests, so a few farmers tried to bring it down with kites.

Farmers were unable to cross the border between Data Singhwala and Khanauri on their tractor-trolleys because Haryana Police placed obstacles along the route. On the first day of the Delhi Chalo march, there were reported fights and injuries, but the protests continued to protest.

The Delhi Police advised commuters to look for alternate routes and issued an alert about excessive traffic on the DND Flyway as a result of security checks. To halt the farmers’ approach, barricades, concrete blocks, iron nails, and container walls have been erected at strategic locations throughout Delhi, including Ghazipur, Singhu, and Tikri.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Mandir- first Hindu Temple – in Abu Dhabi, UAE. On reaching the grand temple complex, the Prime Minister was greeted by the members of the Indian community. Many celebrities including Bollywood star Akshay Kumar and actor Dilip Joshi also attended the opening ceremony of the temple.

The BAPS temple is the first stone Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi which has been built using ancient architectural methods with scientific techniques. The temple has been built with over 300 high-tech sensors to measure temperature and monitor seismic activity.

Similar to Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, in BAPS temple also, no metal has been used in the construction and instead fly ash has been used to fill up the foundation. The grand temple has been built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha on a 27-acre site in Abu Mreikhah, near Al Rahba off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway, at a cost of around Rs 700 crore.

The Temple authorities said it has been built according to an ancient style of construction and creation mentioned in the Shilpa and Sthapathya Shastras, Hindu scriptures which give a detailed description about temple design and construction.

The architectural techniques have been joined with scientific methods. About 300 high tech sensors have been installed at every level of the temple to measure the temperature, pressure and seismic activity. The sensors will provide live data to research.

Swami Bhrahmaviharidas, head of international relations for the BAPS said if there is an earthquake in the area, then they will be able to detect it and will be able to study it. No metal has been used in the construction of the temple and fly ash has been used to fill up the foundation which has replaced 55% of cement in the concrete mix.

Farmers protesting at the Sambhu border were seen flying kites to counter police drones dropping tear gas shells on them.   

According to reports, the Haryana Police were using drones to drop tear gas shells on farmers to stop them from entering the state and heading towards Delhi.

On February 13, the Haryana government dropped tear gas shells on protesting farmers using drones but today farmers have come up with unique techniques to combat the drones used by police. Farmers were flying kites to bring down drones and they also used spray machines to reduce the impact of tear gas.    

Meanwhile, in response to objections from the Punjab Police, the Haryana Police has currently stopped flying drones near the Punjab border.

Earlier in the day, the protesting farmers were undeterred by clashes with police at the Punjab-Haryana border and began to march towards Delhi on Wednesday. To stop them from entering the state, the Haryana Police used a variety of tactics, such as water cannons, concrete barriers, and drones fitted with tear gas canisters.

After unsuccessful talks with the Centre, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha continued the Delhi Chalo march. In addition to multiple layers of barricading, a major deployment of police and paramilitary forces is in place to secure the boundaries of the national capital at Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur.

The farmers in Haryana and Punjab have various demands, including a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, pension for farmers, crop insurance and the quashing of FIRs registered against farmers during the 2020 protest. They also planned a tractor march on Tuesday.

Earlier, MS Swaminathan’s daughter and Developmental Economist Madhura Swaminathan said farmers are Annadatas and cannot be treated as criminals as she referred to the government’s response to the farmer’s protest in Haryana.

While addressing an event organised by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Delhi’s Pusa, she said there have been barricades and jails have also been prepared to stop the farmers protesting to press their demands against the Centre in Haryana, adding that, Madhura said farmers are not criminals, they are Annadatas and needs to be addressed.