New Delhi: Farmers from Punjab, who announced the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to Parliament demanding compensation and benefits related to agricultural reforms, including a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP), broke police barriers near the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida and began moving towards Delhi.
However, after holding talks with cops, the farmers left the protest site. Following this, police removed the barricades and saw the traffic movement’s return to normalcy.
The farmers demands include the allocation of 10% developed plots for farmers displaced by land acquisition, the implementation of new legal benefits, and the adoption of recommendations by a state committee for farmer welfare.
Joint CP Law and Order Noida, Shivhari Meena, told ANI, “The farmers had announced the ‘Delhi Challo’ march today and we were continuously holding talks with them. The farmers have told their demands to the officials and officials have given them an assurance. The traffic has returned to normalcy.”
The Bhartiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), along with the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), and other farmer organizations, had earlier announced that they would march towards Delhi on Monday to demand compensation and benefits under the new agricultural laws.
Meanwhile, severe traffic snarls caused inconvenience to commuters crossing the Delhi-Noida border.
Additional Commissioner of Police (East) Sagar Singh Kalsi told PTI, “We have made adequate arrangements at the East Delhi borders and have taken all precautionary measures, including anti-riot equipment. We are using drones for surveillance and are also coordinating with traffic police to ensure smooth vehicular movement in the area.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday asked Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast unto death at the Khanauri border point to press for the acceptance of farmers’ demands, to persuade the protesting farmer not to obstruct highways an cause inconvenience to people.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan disposed of a habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Dallewal, who was removed from the Khanauri protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border on November 26.
“We have seen that he has been released and he even persuaded a fellow protestor to end his fast-unto-death protest on Saturday,” the bench said, adding that the issue raised by the farmers has been noted by the court and is considered in a pending matter.
“In a democratic setup, you can engage in peaceful protests but do not cause inconvenience to people. You all know that the Khanauri border is a lifeline for Punjab. We are not commenting on whether the protest is right or wrong,” the bench told advocate Guninder Kaur Gill, appearing on behalf of Dallewal.
