Farmers marching to Parliament stopped some distance away

Around 35,000 farmers have converged near Parliament Street Police station in Delhi today, after they were denied permission by police to march to Parliament. Traffic in central and Lutyens' Delhi went into a tizzy as farmers, who have been camping at the Ramlila ground since yesterday, began their march to Parliament around 10:30 am. They were stopped near Parliament Street police station. Farmers have been gathering in Delhi since yesterday to protest against the farming distress in the country.

Traffic was affected on the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, on the stretch near Guru Nanak Eye hospital, Maharaja Ranjit Singh flyover, Barakhamba Chowk and Janpath on Friday morning. Commuters were advised to avoid these routes.

Farmers from different parts of the country, including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have come to Delhi to join the protest march under the umbrella body of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which claims to have support of 207 organisations of farmers and agricultural workers. This is third protest march organised by farmers in the last few months.




Delhi Police has made elaborate arrangements for peaceful protest in the capital. Over 3,500 police personnel have deployed across the capital and several routes have been diverted as part of precautionary measures.

As many as 850 police personnel, up to the rank of sub-inspectors, have been deployed in the Central district.

"We will start marching toward Parliament around 10.30 am. We had discussion with police Thursday night so that the event goes on smoothly," the National Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Atul Anjaan, said.

A group from Tamil Nadu has threatened to march naked like last year if they are not allowed to go to Parliament. The group had last year staged protests at Jantar Mantar with the skulls of eight farmers who killed themselves owing to losses.

The AIKSCC has claimed that the two-day rally will be one of the largest congregations of farmers in Delhi.

(Inputs from PTI)