New Delhi: Farm unions have called for a three-hour nationwide highway blockade, ‘Chakka Jam’, on Saturday afternoon to mark their protest against internet bans near demonstration sites.
The protesting farmers, who have been agitating against the Centre’s agricultural laws for the past two and a half months, will block roads and highways from 12pm to 3pm.
However, the Delhi Police on Friday reiterated that they have not granted any permission to hold the ‘chakka jam’ in the city and have warned that legal action will be taken against those found disrupting the city’s traffic and law and order.
The Congress has extended its support to the chakka jam.
Though farmers’ unions have promised that the Chakka Jam will be peaceful and outside Delhi, Delhi Police, Haryana Police are tightening their security arrangements.
Security at the farmers’ protest sites at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders have been stepped up with multilayered barricading using barbed wiring on top, concrete walls, trenches, nails boards drilled onto roads and netting.
Here is all you need to know about the Chakka Jam:
> It will be observed from 12 noon to 3pm.
> National and state highways will be blocked, the Samayukt Kisan Morcha has said. It has said that the chakka jam will be held nationwide.
> Emergency and essential services will not be stopped anywhere.
> But if you happen to travel on a highway on Saturday between 12 and 3pm, you will probably get stuck.
> Farmers have said they will provide food and water to those stuck at chakka jam.
> There will be no chakka jam in Delhi after what happened on Republic Day. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are also exempt from this protest as farmers from these two states may need to travel towards Delhi’s protest sites. All roads leading to Delhi will remain open except where the protests are going on.
> The chakka jam is a symbolic protest of the farmers against internet suspension at protest sites.