Insta
Protesters Ignored The 12 PM - 8 PM Tractor Rally Schedule, Began Breaking Barricades As Early As 8 AM: Report
Farmer Protests in Delhi (Doordarshan)
Nothing went as planned on Tuesday regarding the schedule and plan of the tractor rally by farmers protesting against the new farm bills at New Delhi border. The police and farmer union leaders have had several rounds of meetings and chalked-out the route and timings of the rally, but nearly all conditions were broken.
As per a report by The Times of India, the timing decided was 12 pm to 5 pm. However, protesters began challenging the police as early as 6 30 am, that is, much before the Republic Day parade.
They tried to pass through the barricades at Ghazipur around this time, but stopped after verbal argument. By 8 am, however, barricades were down at Singhu border. Some 45 minutes later, this was repeated at Tikri. From 9 30 am, a large number of tractors forced their way in Delhi from multiple border areas while clashing with the police, as per the report.
“By 10 am, around 6,000-7,000 tractors had entered Delhi, violating virtually all mutually agreed terms and conditions,” the Times report says. It was only at 10 45 am that the police first used teargas to disperse the crowd.
The report says a total of 37 conditions had been agreed upon, most of them routine and relevant for any other protest march. The most important condition however was that the protest was to take place after the Republic Day parade.
This condition, in fact, began to be broken on Monday night itself when protesters tried to barge into Delhi from Loni border on Monday around 10 pm. They were stopped in time by closing Signature Bridge. No predesignated routes for the rally were followed on Tuesday, the report says.
The rally was supposed to move from Singhu border to Kanjhawala, KMP Expressway ands return. From Tikri Border, it was supposed to pass through Nangloi, Najafgarh and Western Peripheral Expressway. From Ghazipur border, it was supposed to go to Apsara border, Hapur and return.
They were prohibited from brandishing arms or performing acrobatics, but both were done. Around 20 first information reports (FIRs) have bene filed against the erring protesters.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
