200 more trucks of farmers to arrive at Singhu border. How police are prepping
A much larger gathering could be seen at the Singhu border than previous days, with the protesting farmers saying more of them have arrived since Monday night.
As the four-hour Bharat Bandh or the nationwide strike on Tuesday called by farmers protesting against three farm laws is taking shape, the crowd at Delhi’s borders is swelling by the minute as more farmers have joined the demonstration since Monday night and many more are yet to arrive. Security at the borders where the farmer groups are camping has been stepped up in view of the strike.
At the Singhu border, police personnel have taken positions along the barricades and at several other points. They have also made a makeshift arrangement with ropes to prevent people from taking one of the two walkable routes along the borderline. The Delhi Police had said on Monday they will take strict legal action against persons who try to disrupt the movement of traffic or people or forcefully close shops during the bandh.
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A much larger gathering could be seen at the Singhu border than previous days, with the protesting farmers saying more of them have arrived since Monday night. “About 200 trucks laden with farmers are set to arrive at the Singhu border by today afternoon. Many have already reached, hence the increase in the rush,” Anavjeet Singh, a farmer from Balauli village of Ropar district, said.
Kamal Singh, sarpanch of Katli village in Ropar district, said that the farmers’ protest has received support from people across the country as well as the international diaspora.
Unlike the past 12 days when eateries and small shops at the Singhu intersection would remain open -- though without much business -- on Tuesday almost all those shops were shut.
Protesting farmers completely blocked Delhi-Meerut expressway at Ghazipur-Ghaziabad (UP Gate) border that connects Delhi and Ghaziabad. Until Monday night, only one carriageway of the highway was blocked along with the service road of National Highway 24 at the UP Gate border that is closed for the past 10 days.
The highway, that was forced shut by the protesting farmers around 10am on Tuesday, saw traffic snarls, prompting the Delhi Police to ensure additional deployment of security personnel as well as the traffic police. The farmers, however, kept a passage open for emergency service vehicles.