Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj
Video Producer: Maaz Hasan, Saradha Natarajan
As the farmers’ protest in Delhi enters its second week, the city’s border security has been tightened to not allow farmers from other states into the national capital. However, over 1,000 farmers from Madhya Pradesh have arrived at Haryana’s Palwal and are trying to enter Delhi.
“We have started a protest on the Delhi-Agra national highway on Friday. A group of 500 farmers have also joined us from Bundelkhand to protest against the new farm laws,” a protesting farmer said.
The sit-in protest has been organised to question the government against the agricultural bills passed recently.
“The state government of Uttar Pradesh tried stopping us using a huge (police) force on NH 3, i.e. the Mumbai-Agra National Highway. We were again stopped at the Sainya border,” said a farmer.
On reaching Palwal, the farmers blocked one lane of NH 19.
More than 100 farmers stayed on the highway for two days and two nights in this cold weather.
“We are farmers. We are not Khalistani. We are not Pakistanis. We are not Naxals. Stop dividing us on the basis of caste and religion. What sort of law is this where we can’t keep what we produce?”Rajiv Dixit, Protester
Over 1000 farmers from Madhya Pradesh have joined the protest.
A farmer explained that they arrived late for the protest because of different harvesting periods. “With the marriage season still on in December, our farmers are busy sowing seeds of wheat,” he said.
Farmers are protesting with a clear intention, that they will not return home without having the government roll back the farm laws.
“Till this law is not taken back, we will be here only, even if it takes more than a year or two.”Farmer, Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
Traffic Disruption
As farmers block NH 19, traffic remains disrupted from Palwal to Delhi. Farmers on their way to the national capital in their tractors were stopped at the Badhal Chowk by the police. They were not allowed to leave the Haryana border. The worst-affected due to this are commuters and thousand of vehicles that have been stranded between Delhi and Agra since Friday.
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