Farmers' Protest: Massive Traffic Jams Likely in Delhi-Noida Borders Today; Check Routes To Take

Noida Traffic Police late on Sunday issued a traffic advisory ahead of the tractor marches by Samyukta Kisan Morcha, Bharatiya Kisan Union and other farmers’ unions.

The advisory noted that the all the routes leading towards Delhi from Gautam Buddh Nagar will be heavily barricaded and strict checking of vehicles will also be in place.

TRAFFIC ADVISORY DETAILS:

• Movement of all kinds of goods vehicle are prohibited on the routes of Yamuna Expressway to Noida-Greater Noida Expressway to Delhi and Sirsa to Pari Chowk to Surajpur.
• Commuters are requested to use Metro services as much as possible to avoid any inconveniences that rise due to traffic disruptions.
• Vehicles going to Delhi from the Chilla border are advised to take the Sector 14A flyover – Roundabout Sector 15 – Sandeep Paper Mill Chowk – Jhundpura Chowk — to desired destination, Delhi.
• Commuters moving towards the national capital from the DND border can take this route: Film city flyover – Sector 18 – Elevated road — Delhi.
• Vehicles from Kalindi border can take this route: Mahamaya Flyover – Sector 37 – Delhi.
• Commuters who take Yamuna Expressway to reach Delhi can move from Jewar toll to Khurja to Jahangirpur to Delhi.
• Commuters on the Peripheral Expressway who take either the Sirsa or Pari chowk route to Delhi can go from Dadri, Dasna to their desired destination in the national capital.
• Commuters taking NH-91 to Ghaziabad, Dadri to Bulandshahr are advised to go take the Ghaziabad to Hapur route to reach their destination.
• Vehicles moving towards Dadri from NH-91 to Bulandshahr are advised to go from Bulandshahr to Hapur to reach their destination.
• Emergency vehicles will be carefully diverted via the safe routes.

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday said, “…A program to take out a ‘Tractor chain’ has been decided. Tractors will be parked on the highway that leads to Delhi, especially the divider highway…It was decided to register a different kind of protest so that the government would listen to us and not forget the farmers.”

Last week, the Samyukta Kisan Morch (SKM) had announced that it will carry out a tractor march on Monday to condemn the death of the 21-year-old farmer at the Punjab-Haryana border.

The SKM, after a meeting in Chandigarh, had said that the farmers will take out tractor marches on highways across the country on February 26 and hold a Mahapanchayat in Delhi on March 14.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said that the tractors will be on the highway that lead towards the national capital, adding that this will a one-day programme.

Asking the farmers to take part in the march, president of BKU (Tikait) Pawan Khatana, said, “We plan to line up tractors from Greater Noida to the Noida side and march along the Yamuna Expressway, moving towards the Chilla border via the Noida Expressway.”

Farmers from across villages will gather at Greater Noida’s Jewar toll plaza, Times of India reported. From there, Khatana said, they will move towards Noida’s Chilla border.

Farmers will come together to demand Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops, Khatana told ToI.

In a video message, circulated on messaging platform WhatsApp, Khatan can be heard saying, “On the call of BKU Tikait head Rakesh Tikait and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), we have decided to organise a tractor march on Yamuna Expressway,” adding that, they plan to line up their tractors on the “Greater Noida to Noida side of the expressway and march towards Noida”. He said the farmers will uphold “discipline” throughout the march.

Amid the tractor marches, disturbances in traffic across Noida is expected. Earlier this month, though police stopped a farmers march heading towards the Chilla border, heavy barricading — imposed as a security measure — caused massive traffic jams.

To avoid a similar situation, police have come up diversion plans and routes. DCP (traffic) Anil Kumar Yadav said that he is yet to receive information on the farmers’ tractor march. “We will make arrangemens once they share the information of their portest,” Yadav was quoted as saying by ToI.

As per the CBSE schedule for board exams, Class X students have their English exam and Class XII students have taxation and artifical intelligence exams from 10:30 on Monday.

BKU Lokshakti is also planning to protest at the collectorate on February 29. President of BKU Lokshakti Shyoraj Singh said that they also intend on presenting a “memorandum to the district administration regarding these issues”.

Additionally, protestors also intend to burn effigies of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and ministers. After which, several meetings of SKM and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha forums are scheduled for the subsequent two days.

Farmers also observed a ‘Black Day’ on Friday to condemn the death of the 21-year-old farmer Subhkaran Singh.

The farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march was further halted till February 29 on Saturday as groups leading the agitation have shifted their focus to the death of a young agitator in the ongoing protest.

Farmers leaders said that they will decide their next course of action on February 29 while agitators will stay put at the two protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border, Shambhu and Khanuari.