Farmers' protests: None of the roads leads to & from Delhi

NEW DELHI: Kalindi Kunj was among the border crossings that were shut down by the farmers’ agitation for the past few days. Delhi Traffic Police opened it for traffic movement on Wednesday evening after earlier herding the farmers from Uttar Pradesh and other states protesting on the Mahamaya flyover approach to the Dalit Prerna Sthal.
Not surprisingly, there were snarls throughout the day on the Dalit Prerna Sthal-DND route.Traffic was also restricted on the Noida-Delhi carriageway of Delhi-Noida Link Road, Sector 14 Noida flyover and DND’s Mayur Vihar loop to prevent motorists from reaching the barricaded Chilla border. DND saw smooth movement of traffic till around 10am after which commuters complained of “a bit of congestion.” was reported, said commuters.
There was some chaos at Kalindi Kunj in the morning before the crossing was opened to traffic from Delhi. “There was no warning that the border would be closed by the cops,” said Suneet Jaiswal. “I don’t know how people will cope in an emergency when they don’t know which roads are open. Police keep blocking all the main routes for us to enter or get out of Delhi. How can we function in such circumstances? Last night, I had to walk 10km after finding the border had been shut to traffic.”
To prevent protesting farmers from entering the capital, police have already closed the Delhi-Haryana border points at Singhu, Tikri, Jharoda and Jhatikra. Besides Badusarai border being open for two-wheelers, others open for driving into Haryana are Dhansa, Daurala, Kapashera, Rajokri NH-8, Bijwasan/Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera.
The traffic police have asked motorists to avoid Outer Ring Road from Signature Bridge to Rohini, GT Karnal Road, NH 44 and Singhu, Auchandi and Lampur borders.
After the stalled talks on Tuesday, the agitating farmers at Ghazipur border intensified their movement on Wednesday, with the cops, in turn, stepping up security measures, leaving road users facing a lot of inconvenience. “My elderly parents in Haryana are sick and I have to go and take care of them. But I am afraid that if I go, I will not be able to return home,” fretted Vinod.
At Chilla border, over 500 farmers continued their stir on Wednesday, though members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-Bhanu said that they would sit on protest only on one carriageway of the highway. While the movement from Noida to Delhi via Chilla is not possible, people can now drive towards Delhi from Noida.
The protesters weren’t optimistic of the talks with Union agriculture minister Narendra Tomar, the next round of which is to be held on Thursday. “Nothing happens at such meetings. They are just drama,” asserted Bhanu Pratap Singh, president, BKU-Bhanu. “We are suggesting the constitution of a kisan aayog as per the Swaminathan Commission report. Farmers will decide the rate of their produce.”
Singh added farmers would wait for the December 3 talks and in case the government did not agree to the protesters’ demands, they would decide whether to undertake the planned protest march to Parliament. “We have never indulged in any dishonesty and will enter Parliament if necessary,” he added.
BKU-Bhanu state vice president Dr Tarun Sharma told TOI that hundreds of farmers had been trying to reach Delhi via the Yamuna Expressway but had been stopped at various locations, including Jewar Amroha, Mathura and Agra. “Farmers from across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand were on their way to join the protest but they have been stopped at the different toll points,” Sharma said. “We will wait for the result of the Thursday talks and then decide what to do.”