Heavy Traffic Jam on Noida Expressway as Farmers Hold Mega Protest; Several Detained | Key Points

Farmers Protest Latest News Update: The police have opened one side of the traffic on the Noida Expressway, the road leading from Delhi to Noida and Greater Noida. Earlier in the day, the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway was blocked as farmers protested at the Chilla border on Thursday. Speaking to Republic, one of the protesting farmers said, "We won't stop today, no matter what." For the unversed, there are two separate protests. One of these protests starts today and involves farmers from Noida and Greater Noida. 

These farmers have been protesting for several months. Apart from a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), the UP farmers are also implementing the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Today, they have decided to march to Parliament, intensifying their efforts to highlight their demands. 

Meanwhile, the Noida Police has stepped up security along its borders with Delhi in the wake of the proposed farmers' march to the Parliament. This also led to slow movement of vehicular traffic at various routes, including the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and DND.  "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," a police spokesperson said.  

All Delhi-Noida Borders Sealed

Speaking to news agency ANI, senior officer Shivhari Meena said heavy force has been deployed at all Noida-Delhi borders. "All borders have been sealed for 24 hours. All vehicles going towards Delhi are being checked. We are also taking steps to ensure that the common man does not face any problems. We are in talks with the farmers," he said. 

RAF, Riot Vehicles Deployed

To keep the situation under control cops, and personnel from Rapid Action Force have also been deployed. Authorities have deployed riot control vehicles to the location, while drones are being used for an overall surveillance.  According to commuters, the farmers have been halted at the roadside, leading to bottlenecks at various locations. The sluggish traffic flow and inspections are causing delays of at least 30 minutes to their travel time.  Meanwhile, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police has also imposed CrPC section 144 to avoid any untoward incident. 

Several Protesters Detained

There have been reports of clashes between farmers and the police, resulting in the detention of several protesters. The police in Noida have prohibited large gatherings to prevent farmers from gathering in the township or entering Delhi. They have also released a traffic advisory. Visuals from the Chilla border point showed a similarly tense situation, with farmers and police engaging in pushing and shoving, barricades blocking the road, and cars undergoing inspection before entering Delhi.

Massive Traffic Jams in Delhi-NCR

Since morning, there has been a massive traffic jam across Delhi-NCR following the farmers' protest. Several two-wheelers and four-wheelers were trapped in a traffic jam at Sarita Vihar, and a significant traffic congestion was also reported on the Delhi to Noida route.

The police issued an advisory for school buses, advising them to avoid using the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway to reach their destination (Chilla Border, Mahamaya Flyover Marg).

Instead, buses are instructed to take the Hajipur underpass, Sector-93 underpass, and other internal routes within Noida, as suggested by the police.

This protest comes nearly 3 years after a large number of farmers from Punjab and nearby areas of Ambala gathered at the Shambhu border and broke police barriers to march toward Delhi. Farmers mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh had held a year-long protest on Delhi's border points -- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur -- against the three now-repealed farm laws.