india

Updated: Sep 21, 2019 16:12 IST

Hundreds of Bharatiya Kisan Sangathan members marched on Saturday from Noida to Delhi’s Kisan Ghat demanding loan waivers, higher prices for sugarcane crops and cheaper electricity in Uttar Pradesh.

The farmers who had stayed in Noida on Friday were at Delhi Gate, on the Delhi-Ghaziabad border, around noon, causing traffic snarls along the route.

“Traffic is obstructed in both carriageways from Ghazipur Border UP Gate on NH-9, NH-24 towards Nizamuddin due to the farmers’ rally,” the Delhi Traffic Police said.

The route the farmers will take on their way to Kisan Ghat will be via Akshardham and ITO. Noida police teams have been deployed on the way to ensure peaceful passage.

Delhi police are also deployed near the border and along the route to control any untoward incident. “We are coordinating with UP police. Approximately 500 farmers are on their way here,” Joint commissioner of police (eastern range) said, according to ANI.

Around 300 farmers had stationed themselves in Transport Nagar on Friday after their talks failed with the ministry of agriculture and the Noida district administration.

Thakur Pooran Singh, president of the Sangathan, said that the central government has announced loan waiver of farmers. “However, only a few farmers’ loans have been waived. There are thousands of farmers who are under debt and it is difficult for them to manage. We demand that the government waive their loans as promised,” he said.

Singh also said that the sugarcane farmers are not getting good prices for their crops. “We demand that the government buy sugarcane at due price,” he said.

The farmers are also against the recently revised power tariff in UP. “The Delhi government has recently decreased the power bills of the residents. On the other hand, the UP government has made a steep increase in the power tariff. The local people are troubled over the issue,” Singh said.