New Delhi: The Ghaziabad District Administration has ordered anti-farm laws protestors at Ghazipur (Delhi-Ghaziabad border) to vacate the area by late Thursday evening, official sources said.
The administration said if protestors do not act as per order then they will be forcefully evacuated by night, they added. The police have been deployed at the protest site.
Delhi Traffic Police informed that the Ghazipur border is closed on both sides.
“Traffic is diverted from Road no 56, Akshardham and Nizammudin Khatta. Please avoid NH 9 and NH 24 and take an alternate route via Chilla, DND, Apsara, Bhopra and Loni borders,” police said in a tweet.
Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Police personnel conducted a flag march at the Ghazipur border. Ghazipur is one of the sites where protests against the central farm laws are going on for nearly two months.
This comes after violence broke out in the national capital on January 26 during the farmers’ tractor rally. Several public and private properties were damaged in acts of vandalism by the protestors.
A total of 394 police personnel sustained injuries in the violence and several of them are still admitted to hospitals. Nineteen people have been arrested so far and over 25 criminal cases registered by Delhi Police in connection with the violence that broke out during the farmers’ tractor march on Tuesday, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava had said.
Prashant Kumar, Additional Director General (Law and Order) said the police personnel have been deployed at UP gate to look that “anti-national elements” do not infiltrate the protests.
He said few farmer organisations voluntarily ended their protest from Chilla Border and Dalit Prerna Sthal opposing the January 26 incident.
“As far as Baghpat is concerned, local officials told us that they explained to farmers the ongoing NHAI project and they ended the protest last night. Some people are still present at UP Gate. Talks are going on, we have deployed spotters to look for rowdy and anti-national elements so that they don’t infiltrate peaceful protests in UP. We will talk to farmer organisations and ensure that protests are called off at the earliest,” Kumar said.
“If Delhi Police asks for our help in connection with the violence (on 26th January) we will help them. We won’t allow any such element – who did this on a national festival – in our state. People have assured us that they will not provide shelter to any rowdy element,” he added.
Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
