Noida: Police halt farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ land compensation march

New Delhi: Farmers from different parts of Uttar Pradesh demanding adequate compensation for their lands acquired by the government marched towards Delhi on Monday but were stopped at the Noida-Delhi border where they sat on a dharna.

The farmers said if their demands were not met within seven days, they would again march towards Delhi.

Raising slogans of “Bol Kisan, Halla Bol”, the protesting farmers gathered at the Mahamaya flyover on the Dadri-Noida link road and began their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march around 11:30 am.

Massive traffic snarls caused inconvenience to commuters crossing the Delhi-Noida borders as police set up multiple layers of barricades and deployed heavy security to stop the march, which coincided with Parliament’s Winter Session.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic was witnessed at Noida’s Chilla border for several hours as the protesters, waving banners and flags of various farmer groups, crossed the initial barricades.

They were finally stopped near Dalit Prerna Sthal, around a kilometre from the Chilla border, an entry point to Delhi, where senior police officers tried to pacify them.

Traffic on the stretch resumed around 6 pm after the protesting farmers gave a week’s time to fulfil their various demands, including the payment of land acquisition dues, as mandated by the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.

In a statement, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) -- an umbrella organisation of 12 farmers’ bodies -- said the farmers had decided to stay at Dalit Prerana Sthal for the time being following assurances from the authorities that the chief secretary would meet to “discuss and settle their demands”.

It said the agitation would continue till their demands were met.

“The Yogi Adityanath government has failed to ensure justice to the farmers. The BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government has not revised the land circle rate since 2017 and landowners have been denied adequate, lawful compensation and other benefits assured by the Land Acquisition Act, 2013,” it said.

A group of farmers from Punjab, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, plans a march towards Delhi on December 6.

The group has been stationed at Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13, continuing their protest for land and

farm rights.