Cops Remove Barricades After Farmers Leave Protest Site On Noida Expressway
Traffic movement along the Noida-Greater Noida expressway resumed on Monday evening after hundreds of farmers, who had gathered for a “Delhi Chalo” march over various demands, agreed to vacate the protest site.
Sources said that after a meeting with the Noida authorities, Bhartiya Kisan Parishad leader Sukhbir Khalifa, who is spearheading the protests, decided to give the Centre a week’s time to fulfill the farmers’ various demands, including a legislation on Minimum Support Prices (MSPs).
The farmers temporarily shifted their protest to Ambedkar Park but threatened to resume their march towards the national capital, if their demands were not met on time.
Earlier in the day, massive traffic snarls caused inconvenience to commuters crossing the Delhi-Noida border, as police set up multiple barricades to prevent the farmers from Uttar Pradesh from marching towards the Parliament complex. A video posted by news agency ANI showed cars moving at a snail’s pace at the Chilla border, while all vehicles appeared to be at a standstill along the Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway or DND.
“The police set up barricades on both sides of the Delhi-Noida border, causing significant traffic congestion, especially on the carriageway heading from Noida to Delhi. It took me about an hour to get through that stretch,” Aprajita Singh, a resident of Greater Noida, was quoted as saying by PTI.
As the protesters’ gathering point near the Mahamaya flyover in Noida grew bigger on Monday afternoon, some of them broke a few barricades and attempted to continue with their march.
The protest is being supported by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and other farmer organisations.
“We are ready for our march towards Delhi. Tomorrow, on December 2, we will start our march towards Delhi from under the Mahamaya flyover (In Noida). At noon, all of us will reach there and demand our compensation and benefits as per the new laws,” Mr Khalifa told ANI on Sunday.
