Delhi govt makes arrangements for farmers at Burari

The Delhi government welcomed the protesting farmers as their "guests" on Friday and made elaborate arrangements for their food, drinking water and shelter.

Thousands of farmers gathered at various entry points into the national capital were allowed in to hold a peaceful protest at a north Delhi ground against the central farm laws.

Some representatives of the farmers also inspected the Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari along with police officers.

Delhi Jal Board Vice Chairman Raghav Chadha said he had made arrangements for drinking water at the site on the directions of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"We have deployed 20 tankers each containing 9,000 litres of water," he told PTI.

Chadha said he had appointed two nodal officers at Nirankari Samagam to ensure that the farmers were taken care of. "They are our guests, we will be more than happy to host them," he said.

Rithala MLA Mohinder Goyal made arrangements for food, while the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board set up shelters for the farmers.

Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot issued an order directing district magistrates of North Delhi and Central Delhi to make adequate arrangements for shelter, drinking water, mobile toilets and sanitation services for the farmers in "view of the prevailing winter season and the pandemic”.

"We will try and ensure that the farmers do not face any problem in Delhi," he tweeted.

Chadha said it had come to his notice that farmers did not want to go to the Burari ground, adding that the Centre should give them a place of their choice to hold peaceful protests.

A number of farmers said they want to go either to the Ramlila ground or Jantar Mantar to protest against the farm laws.