Farmers Protest Enters 17th Day; Protesters To Block Highways, Overpower Toll Plazas; Heavy Security To Be Deployed

Farmers overpowered the employees of toll-plazas of Karnal and Panipat on Delhi-Chandigarh National Highway 44 allowing toll- free movement of all vehicles from Friday midnight.

Image: PTI

Farmers Protest: With the farmers' mega agitation entering the 17th day on Saturday farmers have made a massive plan to block highways set in motion. Protesting farmer unions to intensify their agitation against the three agricultural sector laws will picket toll plazas on the border to Delhi on Saturday. Police personnel have been deployed in strength to protect toll booths and ensure smooth flow of traffic, Faridabad Police said. As many as 3,500 police personnel will be deployed at the five toll plazas in the area, a statement said. Station house officers and the Police Reserve Force of the respective police stations will also be deployed and personnel will be equipped with anti-riot equipment. Here are the latest updates on farmers' protest:  1. On Friday midnight, farmers overpowered the toll-plazas of Karnal and Panipat on the Delhi-Chandigarh National highway, allowing toll-free movement. Today, the workers of Bharatiya Kisan Union will make all highways leading to Delhi free of toll. 2. Faridabad Police is deploying as many as 3,500 police personnel at the toll plazas at five Delhi-Haryana border points, including Badarpur Border, Gurugram Faridabad, Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal, Pali Crusher Zone, and Dhauj. There will be drone surveillance too. 3. A faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union has moved the Supreme Court demanding the laws be rolled back. “The impugned legislations corporatise agriculture and usher in unregulated and exploitative regime because Indian farmers, of which most are illiterate, would not have the knowledge to negotiate the best terms with a private company and due to this [will] lead to unequal bargaining position in negotiating the farm agreements with corporates,” the plea said. 4. On Friday, the Centre alleged that Leftist-Maoist is hijacking farmers protest. “People of India are watching, seeing what is happening, observing how across the country Leftist-Maoists are not finding any support & therefore they are trying to hijack this farmers agitation & trying misuse this platform for their own agenda,” Food, railways, and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal tweeted. 5. As per reports, 700 tractors of farmers from Punjab and Haryana have joined the protest. On December 14, there will be sit-ins near BJP offices, according to the plan of the protesters. The Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh will organise sit-ins on Monday. 6. The main protest site at Singhu border is bustling with protesters are settling down at their makeshift new homes without betraying any sign of budging. Trolleys containing jaggery, roasted gram, peanuts, gajjak arrived at Singhu border on Friday from Punjab.