NEW DELHI: After 11 months, authorities on Saturday opened one carriageway of the road from Delhi to Haryana after barricades were removed at the Tikri border, where thousands of farmers have been agitating against the three agri laws.
The carriageway was opened following meetings between farm union leaders and the police. The police on Thursday started removing the barricades and concertina wires at Tikri Border on the Delhi-Rohtak highway. The police had also removed similar blockades on one of the carriageways of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway at Ghazipur border on Friday. However, traffic on the stretch has not yet started.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Parwinder Singh said, “We had a meeting with the farmer leaders in the morning. The stretch going towards Haryana from Delhi has been opened and the traffic movement has started.” He added, “The leaders were saying that the traffic be allowed for a particular timing, however, we have opened the road for 24 hours. The commuters with small vehicles can pass through the road.”
Singh said the farm union leaders expressed apprehension that since their tents are on the road, in case heavy vehicles drive through and hit any of the protesters, a law-and-order issue would be created. “There is no space for heavy vehicles to ply there and that is why, we have decided to now allow such vehicles, including truck and busses on that stretch,” Singh said.
The opening of the road stretch would help thousands of commuters of Bahadurgarh and Delhi. While the police removed a large portion of the barricades, wirings from NH-9 (the Delhi-Meerut Expressway flyover), the tents and other temporary structures erected by the protesters to remained there.