As the farmers’ tractor rally scheduled for Republic Day gathered steam on Tuesday, 26 January, protesters who were part of the march breached the route from Ghazipur to reach Delhi’s ITO area.
Police used tear gas as they broke police barricades placed opposite the Delhi Police headquarters at ITO. In visuals emerging from the spot, police can also be seen chasing and lathi-charging farmers, as the two groups clashed. Stone-pelting is also being reported in the area.
Several injuries have also been reported during the clash between protesting farmers and the police. The protesters were also seen riding tractors and trying to drive through the crowd and run over police personnel.
Earlier, visuals showed protesters vandalising a DTC bus as well amid the chaos created as the rally reached Delhi. Several protesters abandoned their tractors after being stopped by the police and roads were seen packed with empty tractors.
Metro Stations Shut Down
Meanwhile, owing to the clashes, the entry and exit gates of some metro stations in central and north Delhi have been closed, DMRC said.
The entry and exit gates of Indraprastha metro station along with those on the Green Line have been closed, reported ANI, citing DMRC. Other stations that have been shut include Samaypur Badli, Rohini Sector 18/19, Haiderpur Badli Mor, Jahangir Puri, Adarsh Nagar, Azadpur, Model Town, GTB Nagar, Vishwavidyalaya, Vidhan Sabha and Civil Lines.
Farmers Break Through Barricades, Begin Rally
The agitating farmers began their planned tractor rally ahead of the time given to them, which was between 12 noon and 5 pm, kicking off at 8.30 am in the morning, breaching police barricades at Singhu and Tikri borders.
Catch all live updates of the Tractor Rally here.
Protesting farmers from Ghazipur crossed over dividers on their tractors in order to reach ITO. The tractor rally from Ghazipur was heading from Indraprastha to Rajghat, but owing to police barricading, the tractors had to attempt crossing over dividers and get to the other side of the road.
They reached Delhi after having deviated from the planned route given to them for the rally, having crossed Akshardham and Yamuna.
The police fired tear gas shells as soon as they reached near the Akshardham intersection on the Delhi-Meerut Highway. The farmers pelted stones, shattering windscreens of passing trucks as well as DTC buses parked on the road, IANS reported.
A similar situation prevailed at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar as the police fired tear gas shells at farmers who moved in from the Singhu border.
(With inputs from ANI and IANS.)
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