Delhi Police Removes Barricades Blocking Roads At Tikri, Ghazipur Farmers Protest Sites

Delhi Police started removing the barricades, barbed wires and concrete blocks from the farmers' protest venues in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border and Tikri in the national capital's border with Haryana.

Multiple layers of iron and cement barricades, and at least five layers of concertina wires were put up by the police in the wake of the January 26 violence during the farmers' protest against the three contentious farm laws.

It's Delhi Police initiative & we're removing the block which we've placed. We'll request farmers so that this highway is opened for ppl.We're hoping our gesture will be reciprocated by farmers: Dependra Pathak, Delhi Police Special Commissioner, Law & Order at Ghazipur Border pic.twitter.com/Z04N5dlfkj

¡ª ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 29, 2021

BCCL

Police officials and labourers were also seen removing iron nails that were studded on the NH9 at Ghazipur, where hundreds of protests, chiefly belonging to the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), have been occupying a road stretch since November 2020.

WATCH: Barricades, barbed wires, cemented blocks being removed as Delhi Police looks set to open the stretch on NH-9 for vehicular traffic. The stretch with several lanes were blocked since the farmers protests started. pic.twitter.com/0ot3FYjCfG

¡ª Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) October 29, 2021

Tikri border

At the Tikri border, the Delhi Police had began removing the roadblocks on Thursday night.

The police had put multiple layers of barricades on the roads, complete with giant nails and huge concrete blocks as thousands of farmers had tried to cross Delhi borders in November last year.

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Four out of the eight layers of barricades at the Tikri border have been removed. However, the cement barricades are still there and the road remains closed for commuters, an officer said.

In videos doing the rounds on social media, JCB machines were seen removing blockades at the Tikri border.

Last week the Supreme Court had called for unblocking of roads that have remained out of bounds for commuters due to the protests at Delhi's border points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur.

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¡°Farmers have the right to protest but they cannot keep roads blocked indefinitely. You may have a right to agitate in any manner but roads should not be blocked like this. People have the right to go on roads but it cannot be blocked.¡± the bench also comprising Justice MM Sundresh had said.

The protesting farmers have always maintained that it was not them, but the authorities were the ones blocking the roads.

"Farmers to protest in front of Parliament"

Reacting to the development, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said that he welcomes the removal of the barricades and added that the farmers will now protest in front of the Parliament.

PM had said that farmers can sell crops anywhere. If roads are open, we'll also go to Parliament to sell our crops. First, our tractors will go to Delhi. We haven't blocked the way. Blocking road is not part of our protest: Rakesh Tikait, BKU leader in Ghazipur pic.twitter.com/v9y0ER4uDK

¡ª ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 29, 2021

BCCL

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been protesting at the three borders of Delhi in Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur against the farm laws passed by the Parliament last year.

Negotiations have broken down and the two sides have been sticking to their stands for nearly a year now, while the three key entry points to Delhi remained blocked.

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