The Delhi Police on Thursday, 28 October, began removing roadblocks placed by the police at Delhi's Tikri and Ghazipur border, two of the farmers' protest sites, after the Supreme Court highlighted that traffic had been stopped not by the protesters, but by the authorities.
The apex court’s comments came a week after it had observed that though the farmers have the right to protest, they cannot block the roads indefinitely.
However, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait recently told The Quint that he agreed with the Supreme Court about the problems with long blockades but insisted that they haven’t blocked the routes and said that the Centre is responsible for the blocked roads.
On Friday morning, Tikait said, "PM had said that farmers can sell crops anywhere. If roads are open, we'll also go to Parliament to sell our crops. First, our tractors will go to Delhi. We haven't blocked the way. Blocking road is not part of our protest," news agency ANI reported.
Moreover, though the blockades are being removed, whether routes will be operational isn’t confirmed yet. A PTI report said four of the eight layers of barricades at the border have been removed so far.
As farmers began their protest on the city’s borders in November last year, the Delhi police had put layers of barricades on the roads, with giant nails , barbed wires and huge concrete blocks.
Meanwhile, senior officials from Haryana, including Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeev Arora and police chief PK Agrawal, on Tuesday, 26 October, visited the border along with a delegation of farmers and also found that the border had been sealed by the Delhi Police, NDTV reported.
Following this, authorities from Haryana and the Delhi Police agreed for the barricades to be cleared by earthmovers and bulldozers.
'The Barricading Was Necessary': Rakesh Asthana
The removal of the barricades also came hours after Delhi Police chief Rakesh Asthana in an interview to NDTV claimed the police "have not closed the roads" and blamed the protesting farmers for blocking the routes with their tents.
He was further quoted as saying, "We have not closed the road to Delhi. When there was a law-and-order problem, the barricading was done in Delhi, it was necessary. Since then, tents have been put up on the other side of the border due to which the roads are closed.”
Farmers, who have been protesting against the Centre’s three farm laws have been accused of blocking traffic on various occasions before as well.
On Thursday night, the Delhi Police was quoted as saying, “There are plans to open emergency routes at Tikri border (Delhi-Haryana) & Ghazipur border (Delhi-UP) that are blocked due to ongoing farmers' protest. The barricades placed at the borders will be removed after getting farmers' consensus”, ANI reported.
A police personnel at the Ghazipur border said on Friday, "The barricades are being removed, the route is being opened. We received the orders", ANI reported.
Later, Delhi Police Special Commissioner, Law and Order, Dependra Pathak, said, "It's Delhi Police initiative and we're removing the block which we've placed. We'll request farmers so that this highway is opened for people. We're hoping our gesture will be reciprocated by farmers."
(With inputs from ANI, PTI and NDTV.)
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