Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Friday said that roads will not be blocked in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the protesting farm unions’ “chakka jam” scheduled for Saturday, reported ANI. He added that the farmers will block roads across the country for three hours from 12 noon.

“The reason is that they [the farmers] can be called to Delhi any time, so they are kept on standby,” Tikait said. The union said the protest will be a symbolic one, reported the Hindustan Times. People who will get stuck will be given food and water, the union said, adding that they will be explained about the jam in a peaceful manner.

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“We are not going to do anything in Delhi.” said Tikait, according to The Indian Express. “The king [referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi] there has already fortified it. There is no need for us to do a blockade now.”

However, the Delhi Police are taking additional measures ahead of the “chakka jam” in view of the violence during the tractor rally called by the farmers on Republic Day.

Delhi Police Public Relation Officer Chinmoy Biswal said that adequate security arrangements were being taken at the borders to ensure that no protestor enters the national Capital. He said that the Delhi Police were in touch with forces from other states as well.

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“We are monitoring content on social media to make sure rumours are not spread against police or other things,” Biswal said.

The Haryana Police have also beefed up their security measures to maintain law and order. Senior police officers have been asked to personally supervise security and traffic arrangements at important junctions and roads. District police chiefs have been asked to ensure that an adequate number of police personnel are deployed, according to an official communication issued to them.

The “chakka jam” has been called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions protesting the farm laws. The protesting farmers will block national and state highways from 12 noon to 3 pm.

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This call is in response to the Union Budget 2021, which they say has “ignored” their demands. The protest is also for the internet ban imposed by the Centre and state governments at various protest sites bordering the national Capital.

Tens of thousands of farmers have been camping out on the outskirts of Delhi for over two months, demanding the repeal of the three agricultural laws passed in September. Multiple rounds of talks between farm union leaders and the central government took place, but all of them failed to end the impasse.

Farmers defy orders, gather for panchayat in UP’s Shamli

Thousands of farmers on Friday gathered in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh to hold a panchayat despite being denied permission from the state government, reported NDTV.

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The Shamli district administration had cited coronavirus-related restrictions on large gatherings until April and “chances of unruly behaviour” by farmers to deny permission for the panchayat. However, the organisers, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, said they would not be deterred.

Defying the orders, farmers headed to Shamli in the morning with many of them seen driving on their tractors. “Inquilab Zindabad” chants were also heard.

“144 reasons why I will go to Shamli tomorrow!,” Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary tweeted, sharing a news report about the district administration not granting permission for the event. He was apparently referring to Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, used to ban gathering of more than four people at a place, in his tweet.

This is the fourth major farmers’ meeting in western Uttar Pradesh after Muzaffarnagar, Mathura and Baghpat. A few of such meeting have been held in Haryana too, according to PTI. The farmer outreach programme is further scheduled to be held in Amroha, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Mathura, Agra, Hathras and Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. A couple of them will also be held in Rajasthan later this month.