Farmers Protest: Villagers Along Haryana Border 'Angry' Over Inconvenience Due To Police Blockade, Traffic Diversions

Delhi Farmer Protest:  As the farmers march towards the National Capital to press their demands, villagers along the Haryana border complained of challenges due to stringent security measures and diverted traffic routes, making their daily commutes difficult. The villagers also flagged concerns about the potential confrontations between protesters and the police on heavily barricaded entry roads. The extensive security measures, designed to deter protesters from entering Delhi, have constrained the mobility of residents.

"We have nothing to do with any protest, but to reach home after work we are asked to show our ID cards at more than three different places," said Raja Ram, who works as a labourer and is a resident of Tikri Kalan.

In anticipation of the farmers' entry into the national capital and following an unproductive meeting between the protesting groups and the Union government in Chandigarh, the Delhi Police is gearing up for preventive measures. Authorities report the deployment of over 5,000 police personnel, including paramilitary forces, in border areas such as Tikri, Singhu, and Ghazipur to uphold law and order.

Also Read: Farmers Protest: Delhi, UP, Gurugram, Ghaziabad Traffic Disrupted; Know Closed Highways And Which Routes To Take

"Farmers are coming from Haryana and Punjab and no locals are involved, but due to such protests we face difficulties doing our business as police do not allow us to open our shops," said Devendra Singh, who runs an eatery near Tikri border Metro station.

People are also facing hardships due to traffic chaos caused by diversions from different routes from Mundka of Delhi towards Haryana.

"There are many schools in villages. Children are facing a lot of difficulty in reaching home. If police have diverted traffic, they must deploy someone to manage it as well," said Surender Kumar, a resident of Tikri Kalan village.

Farmers started heading towards the national capital from different villages of Punjab and Haryana on their tractor-trolleys, loaded with dry rations, water-proof sheets and mattresses. The Delhi Police on Monday enforced section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the entire city and completely secured the city's borders.

"We are fully prepared to deal with any kind of law and order situation. Multi-layered arrangements are there to stop farmers from entering Delhi," a senior police officer said.

Surveillance technologies such as drones and CCTV cameras are being utilised to monitor the border areas. Several farmers associations, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, had called for a protest on February 13 to demand a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have announced that more than 200 farm unions will march to Delhi.

(With PTI Inputs)