Traffic chaos gripped roads on Delhi-Noida border on Monday as law enforcers put up barricades and diverted vehicles in their attempt to prevent protesting farmers from Uttar Pradesh to march towards Parliament to demand guaranteed MSP and press other demands.
The gathering point near the Maha Maya flyover in Noida grew bigger by noon as Bhartiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) and supporters of other farmers' organisations broke some barricades and attempted to march towards New Delhi.
In addition to restricting the movement of heavy vehicles on the Yamuna Expressway and the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, Noida Police issued a traffic advisory ahead of the protest.
However, many office-goers were caught unawares by the curbs and diversions, creating kilometre-long jams near the DND flyway, Kalindi Kunj, and Chilla border points.
"I should have opted for work-from-home today," said a motorist stuck in the gridlock.
The protesting farmers are demanding benefits under new agricultural laws and better land compensation, along with better prices for their farm produce, pensions and waiver of debt.
"We will not turn back till the government accepts our demands," said a protesting farmer, wearing a green Nehru cap.
Law enforcers, deployed at UP Gate in Ghaziabad also erected cargo containers on roads that blocked the protesting farmers way.
Some of the red cap-clad protesters waving flags of communist organisations, did manage to climb onto these containers and raise slogans.
Delhi Police officials and policemen were also in large numbers in the city's territory, strongly holding barricades and barriers made on roads to not allow farmers into the national capital.
Personnel from the Rapid Action Force joined Delhi Police in keeping vigil on the border.
While the protest march slowly began to move towards Delhi, the Supreme Court issued a notice in a case related to farmers protesting in Punjab and warned agitators against blocking highways and increasing the burden of traffic congestion at Khanauri border in Sangrur district.
The Supreme Court told the protesting farmers that public inconvenience could not be allowed even if they had the right to peaceful protest.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan asked farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to persuade his fellow protesters to stage a peaceful protest, not causing inconvenience to other road users.
Farmers have been camping at the Khanauri border since February 13 when their march to Delhi was stopped by law enforcers.
The farmers have been protesting at Shambhu border in Haryana also. Farmers from Shambhu border and Khanauri border have decided that they would resume their Delhi march from December 6.
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