Big security presence, multi-layered barricading at Delhi borders; Sec 144 imposed ahead of farmers' march
DELHI: Massive deployments of police and paramilitary personnel, besides multi-layered barricading, have taken place to seal the national capital borders at Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur to prevent the protesting farmers from entering the city during their scheduled 'Delhi Chalo' march on Tuesday. The Delhi police has also imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code across the city until March 12 and prohibited any type of rally or procession and the blocking of roads and passages.
In view of the farmers' protest and march to Parliament, the Delhi Police started preparations to check the advancing farmers march beforehand, an officer said.
The police are also using drones to keep a tight vigil at border points, an official said, adding that they are fully prepared to deal with any law-and-order situation.
Multiple layers of barricades with concertina wires, nails, and huge concrete blocks and containers have been placed along the entry points to the national capital.
With traffic restrictions and security measures in place, the motorists had a hard time commuting between Delhi and NCR towns.
The Delhi Police has imposed prohibitory orders for a month banning the entry of processions of tractor, truck, or other vehicles in the city.
According to an order issued by Police Commissioner Sanjay Arore, there will be a complete restriction on the assembly of people, rallies, and the entry of tractor trolleys carrying people.
During their protest in 2020, farmers from different states, mainly Punjab, Haryana, and UP, had staged sit-ins at three border points: Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur.
Riding tractors and other vehicles, the farmers had sat at these three border points from August 2020 to December 2021.
In 2020, the police had to rush the logistics to check the entry of the farmers moving in a procession of tractors.
A makeshift office has been set up at the Singhu border to keep round-the-clock vigil on the developing situation.
The police have also sealed the rural roads bordering Haryana to stop the protesters from moving ahead to enter Delhi.
A huge deployment of paramilitary personnel on the Delhi-Rohtak and Delhi-Bahadurgarh roads has taken place. Outer Delhi DCP Jimmy Chiram was seen discussing the arrangements with other personnel.
Heavy concrete blocks and razor-sharp wires were used to block roads. The police are using drones to monitor the area.
Sealing of the borders led to traffic spillover in the border areas of Delhi that further led to sluggish vehicular movement inside the city on Monday.
Several farmer associations, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab, have called for the march on February 13 to demand a law guaranteeing MSP for their produce, one of the conditions they had set when they agreed to withdraw their agitation in 2021.
Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora visited the city's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Sunday to check the security arrangements.
According to an advisory, traffic restrictions have been imposed for commercial vehicles at the Singhu border since Monday. From Tuesday onwards, the restrictions apply to all types of vehicles, it said.
The police have deployed more than 5,000 security personnel, while cranes and earthmovers carrying large containers to block the road were also at work.
Multiple security barricades have already been installed at the borders to stop the farmers from entering the national capital. Nails have been erected on roads so that if the protesting farmers try to enter the city on vehicles, their tyres get punctured, the officials said.