New Delhi, December 13
After over a year, the Singhu border, which was the epicentre of the farmers’ agitation, now bears a deserted look with the last batch of demonstrators leaving for their home states on Monday.
Farmers started leaving the site on the Delhi-Haryana border on Saturday after the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) suspended the protest following repeal of three farm laws and the Centre conceding to its other demands, including a panel for legal guarantee on MSP for crops and withdrawal of police cases registered against them.
The border which was till recently home for thousands of agitators living in tents and having their meals at langars, now has earth movers and cranes working through the day removing concrete barricades and boulders, which were put by police to prevent farmers from moving into the national capital.
Farmer leaders said that the Ghazipur border protest site will be cleared by Wednesday morning as small batches of protestors are still there.
Besides Singhu, farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, on November 26 last year had laid siege also on the Tikri and Ghazipur borders of Delhi to protest against the three laws and demand their repeal.
“The protesting farmers have cleared the Singhu border site now after over a year long struggle. The last batch of protesting farmers left for their homes today (Monday),” said a functionary of the SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions which was spearheading the stir.
He added that some NGOs, farmer groups and police were carrying out the work to clear the road stretch where the protest took place.
On November 29, the laws were repealed by Parliament and a few days later, the Centre agreed to the pending demands of the farmers, including those on MSP and police cases.
“Barricades, concrete boulders and other obstacles are being removed from the highway (at Singhu), which was home for thousands of protesters for over a year, with the help of earth movers and cranes, and volunteers,” the SKM functionary said.
The Tikri border stretch on Rohtak Road was opened for vehicular movement on Sunday evening.
Delhi Police officials said that the work of dismantling concrete barriers and other obstacles, which were put to prevent protesting farmers to move ahead, will be completed by Tuesday.
They said this work was started on Saturday evening.
Some farmers are still at Ghazipur due to which barriers are still there, another official of Delhi Police said.
“Temporary barricades at Ghazipur border are still placed. The police are waiting for the farmers to leave the site,” the official said.
However, farmer leaders said only a small batch of protesters remain at the Ghazipur protest site.
“They are waiting for farmer leader Rakesh Tikait’s arrival. Tikait is likely to reach Ghazipur border site on Tuesday evening. Protestors will then leave for their homes on Wednesday morning,” a farmer leader said.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and the Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 were repealed on November 29, but farmers refused to end their protest.
They demanded that the government fulfil their other demands, which have now been accepted.
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