The farmers arrived in Sahibabad on the outskirts of Delhi on Monday as part of ‘Kisan Kranti Yatra’ – a march that began in Haridwar and intends to move to Kisan Ghat in Delhi on Tuesday.
Clashes broke out Tuesday morning on the Delhi-UP border on national Highway 24 after a major standoff between thousands of farmers and police and paramilitary forces as police tried to stop an estimated 20000 farmers from marching to the national capital to press their 15-point demand, including loan waiver to the Centre.
Police used water cannons and tear gas near UP Gate on National Highway 24 to break up the march. Police said the farmers started throwing stones as they tried to force their way on the highway that had been sealed.
The farmers had arrived in Sahibabad on the outskirts of Delhi on Monday as part of ‘Kisan Kranti Yatra’ – a march that began in Haridwar and intends to move to Kisan Ghat in Delhi on Tuesday.
The Uttar Pradesh government had deployed massive police and paramilitary forces to stop the farmers from reaching New Delhi.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal criticised the police action and tweeted his support for the farmers.”Farmers should be allowed to enter Delhi. Why are they not being allowed to enter Delhi? This is wrong. We are with the farmer,” he said.
Shortly before the clashes broke out, senior police officers said that the farmers under no circumstances will be allowed to proceed to Delhi.
“We have deployed sufficient police force apart from several companies of the para military force and provincial armed constabulary. Talks are on with farmers since Monday. However, they will not be allowed to move to Delhi. The Delhi-Ghaziabad border has already been barricaded and sealed near Sahibabad,” said Vaibhav Krishna, Ghaziabad’s senior superintendent of police.
But the police’s efforts to dissuade the farmers from marching ahead failed. A meeting of delegation of farmer leaders and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath was also held on Monday evening but the talks also ended in failure.
The BKU leaders are demanding clearance of pending sugarcane payments besides the implementation of Swaminathan Committee Report. The farmers have also demanded loan waivers and free electricity for running tubewells.
They said the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna should be made applicable to all crops and premium must be paid by the government. The other demands include the assurance of a minimum income for farmers besides pension of Rs 5,000 for small and marginal farmers who completed 60 years of age. They have also demanded rehabilitation of families of farmers who had committed suicide.
They have also demanded that diesel tractors should be kept out of the ambit of National Green Tribunal’s directions that mandate the removal of all diesel vehicles older than 10 years from the National Capital Region.
The Ghaziabad traffic police had also announced major diversions. They said that no vehicles will be allowed to enter Delhi from UP-Gate besides closure of the Hindon elevated road which takes commuters to Delhi from Raj Nagar Extension.
Apart from this, the commuters willing to move to Delhi will not be allowed to ply on the Link Road connecting Mohan Nagar, Vasundhara to UP-Gate. Such commuters can use Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Seemapuri and can enter Delhi.
“The idea is to disallow entry of vehicles near Sahibabad vegetable market, Vaishali and Kaushambi as farmers have camped at Sahibabad and may try to use the Link Road to enter Delhi either from near Anand Vihar border or UP-Gate,” a police officer said.
