The Delhi borders are once again being choked, as protesting farmer groups gather in the Noida region causing huge traffic jams at the Delhi-Noida borders. The protesting farmers have begun their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march towards the Parliament complex on Monday. These protesting farmers hailing from Uttar Pradesh, are pressing for their five demands for compensation and benefits under the new agricultural laws. To manage the protests the police have scaled up security measures, including installing barricades, checking vehicles and diverting routes in Delhi-NCR.
The Bhartiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) farm leader Sukhbir Khalifa announced a march to the Parliament complex on Monday. The march had been scheduled to begin from 12 pm from the Mahamaya flyover and slated to move towards Delhi on foot and tractors to demand compensation and benefits under the new agricultural laws. They will be joined by other farmer groups, including the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political), who are planning to begin their foot march to Delhi from December 6.
Protestor’s demands
The protesting farmers, under the banners of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), have been protesting against the Centre over various demands, including guaranteed compensation and benefits under the newly enacted agricultural laws. The groups have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February.
The protesting farmers currently have a five point demand:
Land Compensation and Allocation: They are demanding a 10% allocation of plots from land acquired for development projects. They seek a 64.7% increase in compensation under the previous land acquisition law, which should be equivalent to four times the market rate for land acquired after January 1, 2014. Additionally, they request that 20% of plots be allocated for this land.
Employment and Rehabilitation: There is a call for employment and rehabilitation benefits specifically for the children of landless farmers.
Implementation of High Power Committee Directives: They have also called upon the government to execute orders issued by the High Power Committee related to agricultural policies and land acquisition.
Settlement of Populated Areas: They demand fair and equitable arrangements for resettling populated areas impacted by land acquisition processes.
Withdrawal of Cases Against Protestors: They have also called for the withdrawal of legal cases against individuals involved in previous protests, particularly those from the 2020-2021 agitation.
किसान दिल्ली की ओर बढ़ रहे हैं pic.twitter.com/zk8F6qI6Y1
— Ranvijay Singh (@ranvijaylive) December 2, 2024
“We are ready for our march towards Delhi. We will start our march towards Delhi from under the Maha Maya flyover (In Noida). At noon, all of us will reach the Parliament complex and demand our compensation and benefits as per the new laws,” BKP leader Sukhbir Khalifa said.
The Protest
Protesting Farmers were seen breaking barricades and sitting on them despite heavy security. The protestors then sat on the road as traffic movement on one side of the highways connecting Noida and Delhi were blocked. Police also closed the road from Greater Noida to Delhi via Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida. So far farmers from 20 districts, including Gautam Buddh Nagar, Agra, Aligarh and Bulandshahr are taking part in the march.
The police are carrying out intensive checking of the vehicles and have diverted some routes, leading to massive traffic jams at places, including the DND Flyway and Chilla Border. Police have also advised people to use the metro to avoid getting stuck in traffic jams on the diverted routes.
A three-layered security was formed and police were in riot gear to prevent the farmers from entering the national capital. “Over 4,000 police personnel have been deployed. There is three-layered security. Some farmer leaders have been detained. We will not allow the farmers to go to Delhi at any cost,” additional CP (Law and Order) Noida, Shivhari Meena said.
As once again the protestors have managed to choke the national capital, the government must make sure that it is not a repeat of the long protests in 2020 which ended up causing massive damage to the Indian economy, and making the daily life of the citizens a nightmare.
