Farmers’ protest: Internet snapped at Delhi borders for two days

By Online Desk
The Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended internet services on a temporary basis at protest sites till 11 pm of January 31, official sources said on Saturday.

Internet connectivity has been snapped at Singhu, Ghazipur, Tikri borders and adjoining areas.

The decision for suspending internet services has been taken to “maintain public safety and averting public emergency” under Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules 2017, the official said.

One of the leaders of the farmers’ protests underway in and around Delhi, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said that the government feels “that if they weaken the movement, then it is their responsibility.”

He added that the farmers’ movement will only become “greater” if the government tries to “crush” their voice. 

गाजीपुर बॉर्डर पर इंटरनेट बंद कर दिया है सरकार ने , उन्हें लगता है कि इससे आंदोलन को वो कमजोर कर देंगे तो ये उनका वहम है । किसानों की आवाज़ को कुचलने के वो जितना प्रयास करेंगे ये आंदोलन उतना बड़ा होता जाएगा।
— Rakesh Tikait (@rkeshtikait) January 30, 2021

Hundreds of farmers have stayed put at the Ghazipur border on Saturday morning, with more supporters pouring in on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre’s new farm laws looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protestors have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also poured in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.

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BKU’s Meerut Zone president Pawan Khatana, who is at the demonstration site with the BKU leader, told PTI, “This is not a political protest. Anybody who shares the ideology of the BKU and Rakesh Tikait are welcome here.

But it is our appeal to those who do not wish to support the movement till the end that please do not come only to leave in between,” he said.

The protest sites are covered by heavy security deployment, including personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force (RAF) in anti-riot gears and civil police.

The protesting farmers expressed apprehension that these laws could be detrimental to the minimum support price (MSP) system, which makes them vulnerable to big corporations. 

However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

(With inputs from PTI)