Around 25,000 tractors from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will participate in the ‘kisan parade’ in the national capital on January 26. The Delhi Police said it is making tight security arrangements due to inputs about possible attempts to disrupt the rally while Haryana authorities advised people to avoid travelling to the national capital.
“Over 300 Twitter handles have been generated from Pakistan during January 13 to 18 to disrupt the tractor rally by farmers by misleading people. There are inputs about the same from different agencies too. It will be a challenging task for us but the rally will be conducted amid tight security after the Republic Day parade is over,” said Deependra Pathak, Special Commissioner of Police (Intelligence).
The rally will be held from Delhi’s three border points, Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur and adequate security will be provided to it, police said.
Thousands of tractors were seen on the highways in Haryana heading towards Delhi, resulting in traffic congestion at several points on the GT Road.
“Traffic on KMP-KGP expressway will also be impacted and interchanges at Kundli, Assaudha and Badli will not be accessible to traffic movement on these dates. Therefore, all commuters are being advised not to use these routes on these dates to avoid any inconvenience,” a police advisory said.
Meanwhile, farmer leaders appealed to those participating in the Republic Day tractor march to carry enough ration for 24 hours and ensure that the rally remains peaceful.
Earlier in the day, a member of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a joint front of the protesting farmer unions, said the tractor parade will start after the official Republic Day parade concludes at Rajpath. A war room has been set up at each protest site to ensure effective coordination during the parade. There will be 40 members, including doctors, security personnel and social media managers, in each of these rooms, the SKM member said. Around 40 ambulances will be stationed along the route to attend to any medical emergency.
