Farmers invade Delhi

New Delhi: Thousands of farmers protesting over the three farm laws passed recently by Parliament were on Friday allowed to enter Delhi following day-long clashes with police at the borders with Haryana. The clashes saw the police using water cannon and tear gases to keep the crowds under control.

The Delhi Police said the protesting farmers would be escorted to the protest site at Burari on the outskirts of the national capital. The farmers entered the city as part of their 'Dilli Chalo' march to press for the withdrawal of the three farm Bills.

Clarifying the central government's stand, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government is ready to discuss the issues of the farmers on December 3 while making an appeal to the protesters to end their agitation as this is the beginning of the cropping season.

Carrying food and essential supplies for their stay in Delhi, groups of farmers walked with their tractors from Haryana into Delhi after the police granted permission for a peaceful protest at the Nirankari Ground in Burari. The farmers started entering the city after 3 pm from the Tikri border. The farmers have come all the way from different districts of Punjab.

At the Singhu border, there was chaos with farmers, many of them wrapped in barbed wire, defied barricades and dug up trenches. Plumes of smoke were seen as security personnel fired multiple rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the protesters at the Singhu border. Angry farmers pelted stones at the police and broke barricades prompting action from the police leaving several farmers injured.

The farmers protests disrupted traffic movement in parts of Delhi. The Delhi traffic police took to Twitter posting a series of tweets asking travellers to avoid the Outer Ring Road, Mukarba Chowk, GTK road, NH-44 and Singhu Border.

Tension defused after the Delhi police allowed the protesting farmers to gather at the Burari's Nirankari Ground and the farmer-leaders agreeing to be escorted by the security personnel till the protest site.

The farmers, who have come from Punjab, representing over 30 farm bodies, had announced their march to Delhi through several routes -- Lalru, Shambhu, Patiala-Pehowa, Patran-Khanauri, Moonak-Tohana, Ratia-Fatehabad and Talwandi-Sirsa.

After they were allowed entry into Delhi, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh welcomed the Central government's decision underlining that the government should also now initiate immediate talks to address concerns of the farmers on the farm laws without waiting for December 3.