Protesting Farmers To Resume Delhi March After Night Halt: 10 Points

1. The protesting farmers had declared a “ceasefire” last night and promised to “try again” today. Prohibitory orders are clamped down and a huge security force has been deployed, fearing the farmers may try to break the barricades again today.

2. Tuesday saw a flashback of the 2020-21 protest with tear gas and water cannons being used to prevent the farmers from crossing the Punjab-Haryana border. The protest three years ago had lasted 13 months, choking the Delhi borders.

3. The farmers say they are prepared for the long haul and have enough diesel to reach Delhi and ration to last six months. A farmer told NDTV they won’t return until their demands are met, even if it takes months.

4. The farmers are protesting over a list of demands. The government has accepted most of their demands, except three key ones – a law on MSP, farm loan waiver and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendation.

5. The government yesterday called for more talks to resolve the deadlock, but the farmers allege they are just wasting their time and have no intention of meeting their demands.

6. Union Minister Anurag Thakur yesterday said talks are taking time because the farmers are making new demands. He urged them not to indulge in violence and arson, and invited them for a new round of dialogue.

7. The police have fortified Delhi, barricading borders with concrete blocks and tyre deflators. But the first line of defence was at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, where the action played out yesterday.

8. The Centre and the Delhi government are at odds again over the farmers’ protest. The Arvind Kejriwal government has declined the centre’s proposal to convert a stadium into a “holding area” to confine them if they manage to enter the city.

9. Public gatherings have been banned in entire Delhi for a month and restrictions imposed on vehicle movements across the border. The police are also checking all vehicles to ensure protesters are able to cross into the city.

10. These and multiple diversions on border points connecting Delhi with its satellite towns led to a traffic nightmare yesterday. Commuters, mostly goers, were stuck for hours at different city border points due to a crawling traffic.

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