Bharat Bandh: Farmers’ protest at DME choke I’puram & Kaushambi

Greater Noida/Ghaziabad: Farmers on Friday protested for around four and a half hours in Gautam Budh Nagar, first holding a panchayat at the Surajpur roundabout and later at the district collectorate as part of Bharat Bandh called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) against the three controversial farm laws. In neighbouring Ghaziabad, business establishments remained mostly open, though vehicular movement was affected in some parts as the protesting farmers blocked the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
In Ghaziabad, traffic snarls were witnessed in Indirapuram and Kaushambi as commuters had a tough time negotiating through jam-packed alternative routes.“I was aware of Bharat Bandh on Friday and hence started early for my office in Delhi but was still caught in a jam on a narrow stretch of road along Khoda towards Murga Mandi, which we used when the DME was closed,” said Ashish Kumar, an Indirapuram resident. “While I was returning I waited till 6pm and tried an alternate route from Kaushambi.”
Mahesh Khemka, another commuter who was on his way to Chandni Chowk from Vaishali, complained of a traffic jam near Kaushambi. “Around 11am, there was a long jam in Kaushambi and it took me more than half an hour to cross the stretch,” he said. The situation in the city area was comparatively better and except for a few stretches like Hapur Chungi, the vehicular movement was relatively smooth.
Meanwhile, at UP Gate, emotions ran high after news of BKU’s general secretary Yudhveer Singh’s arrest in Ahmedabad came. The protesting farmers had set off to Apsara Border and Kaushambi to block the road till the time Singh was released, but thankfully the SKM leadership intervened to avert the crisis. “At UP Gate, we had blocked DME and also Eastern Peripheral Expressway briefly, and the Bharat Bandh was successful in Ghaziabad,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, one of the protesters.
In Gautam Budh Nagar, farmers associated with BKU-Tikait and Bhartiya Kisan Sangathan blocked the Surajpur roundabout for nearly two hours. Except for ambulances and other emergency vehicles, they did not leave any other vehicles to cross the Durga Talkies roundabout in Surajpur. They left the spot only after the ADM (administration) reached there and assured them of a direct dialogue with the district magistrate. Later they held a protest at the district collectorate, and threatened to stop the land acquisition for Jewar airport if the affected land owners weren’t paid the enhanced compensation.
Meerut mandal president for BKU-Tikait, Pawan Khatana, said, “Some 65% enhanced compensation is due to be given to several farmers and their children do not have employment. If the farmers are not assured of their demands being met, we will be forced to stop the land acquisition process at Jewar, where we plan to hold our next dharna,” he said.