Traffic jams, heavy security in Delhi as farmer unions head to India’s capital after 4 years

The Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), a farmers’ organisation, is leading a march from Noida to Delhi on Monday (December 2).

The march has caused traffic jam on the Noida-Delhi route and has led to increased security arrangements in the bordering areas of Delhi and Noida.

Ahead of the BKU’s march, the Gautam Budh Nagar Police had issued a traffic advisory on Sunday. It said that Delhi Police and GB Nagar Police would conduct strict checking of all vehicles going towards Delhi. It further said that all freight vehicles’ movement would be banned on Yamuna Expressway, Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, and the road to Surajpur via Parichowk from Sirsa.

In the advisory posed on X in Hindi, the GB Nagar Police also shared the list of alternate routes commuters may take.

🚨यातायात एडवाइजरी🚨
यातायात हेल्पलाइन नं०–9971009001 pic.twitter.com/cs0pgES6SG

— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR (@noidapolice) December 1, 2024

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Separately, Joint Commissioner Shivhari Meena told ANI that a three-tier security plan is being implemented with a deployment of around 5,000 police personnel and 1,000 PAC personnel. He further said that fire services and water cannons have also been mobilised.

In a separate post on X by the news agency, Rapid Action Force (RAF), the riot-control wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was also seen deployed.

#WATCH | Noida: Shivhari Meena, Joint CP says, " We are in constant talks with farmers regarding the 'Delhi Chalo' march. Yesterday also we spoke to them for 3 hours. We have also prepared a 3-tier security plan...around 5,000 Police personnel are conducting checking at various… pic.twitter.com/PQYJlGACV9

— ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2024

In a statement on Sunday, BKP leader Sukhbur Khalifa told ANI, “We are ready for our march towards Delhi. Tomorrow, December 2, we will start our march towards Delhi from under the Maha Maya flyover (In Noida). At noon, all of us will reach there and demand our compensation and benefits as per the new laws.”

The BKP’s march to Delhi comes days ahead of a broader march to Delhi announced by a larger group of farmer unions. The two groups have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February when their march to Delhi was stopped by Haryana government at the Punjab-Haryana border.

Announcing the march last month, KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said farmers were “left with no option”.

“We will move towards Delhi on December 6…“We have been left with no option. We waited peacefully for the government (to reach out) for nine months, but now we will head towards Delhi,” said Pandher, as per PTI.

Meanwhile, Haryana Agriculture Minister Shyan Singh Rana dismissed the union’s assertions and said they don’t have any issues at all.

Rana told ANI, “They have no issues. The previous farmers’ agitation had an issue- the three farm laws. Those three laws were later repealed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The farmers’ agitation has caused losses to Punjab. Rice miller industries from Punjab moved to Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. We will not let anyone play with the law-and-order situation in Haryana. They should talk to their chief minister and sort out their problems.”