The Delhi-Jaipur highway, which was closed on Sunday morning by the protesting farmers, is now partially open, say the sources.

The Delhi-Jaipur highway was closed by the protesting farmers who began a tractor march from Shahjahanpur on the Rajasthan-Haryana border thus leading to its shutting down for about three hours.

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The agitating farmers began a tractor march from Shahjahanpur on the Rajasthan-Haryana border as part of their agitation as their leaders had declared on Saturday that they would further intensify the protest and block the highway even as the protest entered its 18th day today.

Meanwhile, thousands of farmers are on their way to Delhi from Punjab and are stationed at the Rewari border of Haryana. Haryana Police has blocked both sides of the Delhi-Jaipur highway to stop them from entering the state.

Another group of protesting farmers is trying to march towards Haryana border from Rajasthan’s Neemrana.

Yogendra Yadav, the Swaraj India party chief, accompanied by social activist Medha Patkar, is also with the group said to around 1000 in numbers. They had started the march from Rajasthan in the morning from Shahjahanpur.

Talking to the media about the unproductive talks between the farmers and the Centre, Yadav said, “It is a strange negotiation. They are forcing a ‘gift’, which is unwanted in the first place. PM says it is a ‘historic gift’. Farmers refuse it. Then PM says, ‘We will change the wrapping of the gift’. But farmers are still saying they don’t want it. The PM needs to think about the welfare of the farmers, repeal the laws.”

Yesterday, the protesting farmers had said that they will expand and intensify their protest to a ‘pan-India’ scale as the Centre has refused to heed to their demands to repeal the three contentious farm laws–The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance, and Farm Services Act, 2020; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 enacted in September.

They also appealed all sections of society, including girls and women, to join them. As of Saturday, the farmers are protesting at different borders of the National Capital.

Kisan Sangharsh Samiti President Kawalpreet Singh Pannu had, on Saturday, said that all the leaders of 32 unions would sit on a day-long hunger strike at the Singhu border protest site from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, December 14.

“We request our sisters and mothers to become part of the protest. We are arranging for the seating, sleeping and hygiene facilities for women protesters. We appeal the girls and women across India to join the protest,” he said adding, “We want to keep this movement as peaceful as it can.”