New Delhi, India (CU)_ As India celebrates its 72nd Republic Day, the protesting farmers from 41 farm unions will engage in a tractor parade to protest the Centre’s new farm laws. About 1 lakh tractors are scheduled to participate in the rally, and around thousand other tractors were blocked from reaching Delhi or were stuck in traffic jams on the Yamuna Expressway, Sonepat, Singhu border and Bijnor.
More than 10,000 tractors have been prevented from reaching Delhi at the Singhu border. The police have put barricades to prevent the protesting farmers from entering Delhi, which will be removed after the official Republic Day ceremony. In Agra, a large number of tractors are blocked on the way. The farmers said that the level of participation was far beyond their expectation. Delhi Police approved the following routes for the rally. The huge tractor rally will cover the following routes: Tikri Border Route, Singhu Border Route, Gazipur Border Route, Chilla Border Route, Mewat Route, and Shajahanpur Border Route.
In view of the Republic Day celebrations and the farmer’s tractor parade at Delhi, the government had provided multilayered security to Delhi and deployed thousands of armed personnel at the Rajpath and several border points of the capital. The Delhi police deployed nearly 6,000 security personnel for surveillance. The Facial Recognition system for Delhi Police was also arranged for suspect identification at vantage points. Surrounding the city, a five-layer security cover was deployed, which includes border pickets, inner, middle and outer security.
Speaking at a press meet at the Singhu border on Monday, senior union leader Darshan Pal declared that the protesting farmers are planning to march to Parliament on Budget Day from various locations. Pal said, “We will march to Parliament on foot from different locations on Budget Day on February 1. As far as tomorrow’s tractor rally is concerned, it will give the government an idea of our strength and they will know that our agitation is not just limited to Haryana or Punjab but it is a nation-wide agitation”.
