Around half-a-dozen districts in south Haryana sharing border with Rajasthan and U.P., which had remained unaffected by the farmers’ agitation, have now felt the heat with tens of farmers from Madhya Pradesh reaching Palwal on their way to Delhi on Thursday and local farmers also extending the support to the agitation.
As a precautionary measure, the Gurugram police came out with a traffic plan on Thursday to divert the protesters at eight points in the district. The Faridabad police also deployed force in large numbers at its border with Delhi (Badarpur Border) and Palwal (Sikri Border) to try and stop the agitating farmers from entering the national capital.
Palwal Deputy Commissioner Naresh Narwal told The Hindu that around 200 farmers from Madhya Pradesh reached the Haryana-U.P. border on Wednesday night in dozen tractors and trolleys. They were allowed to march towards Delhi after initial attempts by the police to stop them. The farmers were allowed after they assured the authorities not to block the highway and protest at the designated place in Delhi. Mr. Narwal said around 200 farmers from Palwal also set out for Delhi on foot.
The Faridabad police said that attempts would be made to stop the farmers from heading towards Delhi without the use of force.Deputy Commissioner Yashpal Yadav and Police Commissioner O.P. Singh took stock of the situation at the two border points. Mr. Singh, addressing the thousands of policemen deployed at Badarpur border, cautioned them against the use of unwarranted force and clash with the farmers. Sources in Faridabad police said the higher authorities had directed the administration to peacefully stop the farmers travelling in tractors and trolleys to avoid congestion on the roads and allow those marching on foot.
The Gurugram police have come out with a traffic plan to put in place diversions at Kapriwas Border, Bilaspur Chowk, Panchgaon Chowk, Manesar Chowk, Kherki Daula Toll Plaza, Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk and Shankar Chowk. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, D.K. Bhardwaj said traffic diversions were for the protesters heading towards Delhi from south Haryana. “Though there are no reports about the movement of protesters as of now, there are apprehensions,” said Mr. Bhardwaj.
