Bharat Bandh hits Delhi badly, traffic snarls at borders

Massive traffic jams were witnessed at the Delhi borders in wake of Bharat Bandh called by farmer organisations today. More than 1,000 police forces, including senior officers have been deployed at all border points

New Delhi:Massive traffic snarl is seen at Gurugram-Delhi border as vehicles entering the national capital are being checked by Delhi Police and paramilitary jawans, in wake of Bharat Bandh called by farmer organisations today. The Delhi Noida Direct (DND) flyway also witnessed massive traffic congestion. Security has also been beefed up on the borders of Ghaziabad and Noida with Delhi, while traffic movement on some key routes was hit on Monday morning. The Ghaziabad Police closed a national highway that connects Ghaziabad and Nizamuddin in Delhi.

Commuters on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway had to face a huge traffic congestion as the Delhi Police had put barriers at the border to keep a vigil on the farmers entering the national capital. A heavy presence of security personnel was seen at the Delhi-Gurugram border. Apart from the central forces, the Delhi Police and the Gurugram Police personnel have barricaded the border. Due to this, only two lanes from Jaipur towards Delhi were opened for commuters entering Delhi. The traffic movement on the National Highway-48 was slow and the vehicles were moving bumper to bumper. The officials of the Gurugram traffic control room said the traffic movement on the expressway was slow due to the barricades erected by the Delhi Police on the Delhi-Gurugram border and near the Rajokri flyover.

“More than 1,000 police forces including senior officers have been deployed at all border points," the police spokesperson said.

At the UP Gate, which is also the protest site of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) since November last year, police up barricades on the highway to check vehicles. Vehicular movement on this route between Delhi and Ghaziabad has been suspended, Superintendent of Police (second) Gyanendra Singh told the media.

Apart from UP Gate at Ghazipur border, all three borders between Delhi and Ghaziabad -- Ananad Vihar, Dilshad Garden-Apsara Cinema, and Tulsi Niketan -- are open, the SP said.

Meanwhile, the Noida traffic police also cautioned commuters against taking the routes passing through Ghazipur in adjoining Ghaziabad for travelling to or from Delhi.

On the other side, the expressways, including the Yamuna Expressway, leading from Greater Noida into the interior districts of Uttar Pradesh like Mathura, Agra, Aligarh, Lucknow, among others were open without any hindrance in the morning, according to officials.

The Delhi Traffic Police closed both carriageways across the iconic Red fort. This time, the police force was seen as more careful this time keeping in view how the January 26 Red Fort events unfolded into a serious violence. Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation shut Pandit Shree Ram metro station, that is close to the Tikri border in western Delhi. Its services were normal at other places.

The bandh seemed to have no effect at the Loni border (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh) connecting the Baghpat (Haryana) Highway.

Despite the farmers' call for Bharat Bandh, the public transport was operational in the national capital. The DTC buses, Delhi Metro, auto rickshaws and other modes of public and private transports were running smoothly in the capital city.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), who has called for the Bharat Bandh, is an umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions, to mark one year of the passage of the Centre's three farm laws. The bandh has garnered support from more than 500 farmer organizations, 15 trade unions, political parties, six state governments and varied sections of society. State governments of Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Punjab, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh have extended their support to the Bharat Bandh protest.

Farmers have been protesting at different sites since November 26 last year against the three enacted farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. Farmer leaders and the Centre have held several rounds of talks but the impasse remains.

With agency inputs