Traffic movement was severely hit on Delhi's borders with Uttar Pradesh's Noida as security personnel guarded the areas as thousands of farmers met police barricades on their march to Parliament with their demands. Vehicles were stuck in traffic jams on key National Highway (NH) 24 due to road closure due to the farmers' protest.
Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait joined the protestors in Greater Noida in the afternoon where his Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) members have been protesting outside the local authority office. In the night, a meeting among government officials, police and a delegation of protesting farmers was organised in Noida but did not yield any outcome.
"The meeting did not have any outcome as such because representatives of local authorities and Uttar Pradesh government were not there. Only the police commissioner, two joint commissioners and the district magistrate were there," a BKP member said.
The farmers groups in Noida and Greater Noida have been on protest since December 2023, with demands for hiked compensation and developed plots against their land acquired by the local development authorities in the past.
Massive Traffic Snarls In Delhi, Noida
Social media was flooded with visuals of hundreds of farmers gathered at Delhi-Noida borders, including the Chilla border and long queues of vehicles choking roads as two-wheelers and four-wheelers were stuck in traffic jams at key stretches such as Sarita Vihar, Greater Noida's Pari Chowk, Delhi-Noida highway (DND), Kanlindi Kunj bridge, around Dalit Prerna Sthal, Atta Chowk and Rajnigandha Chowk etc.
Ahead of the protest demonstration by the farmers in Noida and Greater Noida, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police has imposed CrPC section 144 on Wednesday and Thursday.
Security was tightened in Delhi, especially on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, in view of the major protest demonstration by the farmers, officials said.
"In view of the farmers' movement, barriers are being installed at all the borders of Delhi and at Kisan Chowk and other places. Each vehicle is being checked and passed due to which the traffic is moving slowly," news agency PTI quoted a police spokesperson as saying.
"Senior officials and other personnel are present at various locations to control the traffic. The traffic is being monitored continuously," he added.
The farmers led by the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad assembled at the Mahamaya Flyover in Noida at 12.30 pm on Thursday, with a proposed plan to march towards the Parliament.
From Mahamaya Flyover, the farmers were supposed to march towards the Parliament in Delhi to press for our long-pending demands, according to BKP leader Sukhbir Yadav 'Khalifa'.
The police had issued a traffic advisory, cautioning the commuters against diversions on some routes in the twin cities in view of the farmers' movement on tractors.
