As the agitating farmers march towards the national capital to press for their demands, the central government is leaving no stone unturned to maintain the law and order situation.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has ordered to close a few gates at certain metro stations as per security instructions.
“A few gates may be closed in the following stations as per security instructions. However, the stations are operational — Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk, Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, Janpath, Khan Market and Lok Kalyan Marg,” it said in its update.
According to officials, Red Fort in the city has also been closed for visitors in view of the farmers’ protest.
News agency ANI reported that the protesting farmers forcibly removed cement barricades with their tractors as they tried to cross over the Haryana-Punjab Shambhu border.
Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are demanding minimum support price (MSP) for their produce as assured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the time of withdrawal of three contentious farm laws in November 2021.
Massive security arrangements have been put in place on the borders of the national capital in view of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest by farmers. To ensure law and order, Delhi police have already enforced Section 144, restricting entry of tractor trolleys and large assemblies.
Visuals from Delhi’s Gazipur border, Shambhu border and Tikri border showed barricades and barbed wires erected on the roads blocking entry. Similar arrangements were observed at the Singhu border with rows of barricades lining the road.
According to police, a robust force of more than 2,000 personnel, including CAPF, Crime Branch staff and battalions, are keeping a vigil to maintain law and order and address any untoward incidents.
The meeting between the farmer union leaders and the government ended in a stalemate on Monday with no common ground in sight.
On the meeting, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said he remains hopeful of a breakthrough, adding that the Centre wants to arrive at a resolution through dialogue. Speaking to the reporters here after holding a fresh round of talks with the protesting farmer leaders, the minister informed that while a breakthrough wasn’t achieved, a broad consensus was reached on most of the issues of contention.