'Chakka Jam': Farmers block roads to demand repeal of farm laws

Thousands of farmers sat on roads, raised slogans and beat drums across northern India to step up pressure on the Modi government to roll back the agriculture reforms, the first nationwide protest after the violence-marred tractor rally on Republic Day.

The ‘chakka jam’ call given by the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) received overwhelming response in Punjab and Haryana and parts of Rajasthan where farmers turned up in huge numbers to block state and national highways from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm.

The agitating farmers exempted Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand from the ‘chakka jam’ call apprehending a repeat of the violent incidents of January 26, when a group of protesters had raided the Red Fort and hoisted Sikh flags from the ramparts of the monument.

Also read: Protesting farmers will stay put till October 2: Rakesh Tikait

At the same time, the farmers declared that they were prepared for the long haul and would continue to be at the protest sites on Delhi’s borders till October.

“We will sit here till October 2,” Rakesh Tikait, the spokesperson of the Bhartiya Kisan Union said at the Ghazipur protest site on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

Delhi was turned into a fortress with multi-layered barricades topped up with Concertina wires near protest sites at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders as well as ITO junction in Central Delhi which witnessed vandalism by a section of farmers.

Also read: Farmers' protest: MHA suspends internet at Delhi border areas till end of the day

“The 'chakka jam' was completely peaceful,” said Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan.

Farmers parked their tractor-trailers or squatted in the middle of roads in Punjab and Haryana, blocking several highways, including the Chandigarh-Zirakpur, Amritsar-Pathankot, Tarn Taran-Kapurthala, Ferozepur-Fazilka, Muktsar-Kotkapura, Bathinda-Chandigarh, Ludhiana-Jalandhar, Panchkula-Pinjore and Ambala – Chandigarh highway

Rustic farmer songs blared from speakers and people perched atop truck-tractors hoisted the tricolour on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway that encircles Delhi.

In Rajasthan, farmers at many places including Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Dholpur and Jhalawar stalled traffic on the highways and main roads and held demonstrations.

Activists of the Congress and the Left parties who had announced their support to the farmers’ ‘chakka jam’ participated in huge numbers across the country.