Barricades broken, clashes with police, Red Fort breached during the Tractor March: All you need to know

Some groups of the farmers broke barricades at multiple points on Delhi’s border, had clashes with the police and also breached the Red Fort on Tuesday morning, hours ahead of the agreed time for their Republic Day Tractor March. While most of the farmers and their unions followed the routes decided by the Delhi police, but some groups did not agreed to them and decided to enter Central Delhi.

A group led by Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee were the first to breach the barricades at Singhu border. Protesters also broke through barricades at the Tikri border around 9 a.m. By 10.30 a.m., SKM protesters had started moving at all three major protest sites, from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur. The initial group which broke off the agreed route to head towards Outer Ring Road was halted by police near the Karnal bypass by 11 am. Around 11.30am, many farmers were proceeding towards Akshardham temple and trying to enter central Delhi. One group had also reached the ITO flyover, moving towards the Central Delhi.

By afternoon, a large group had reached the iconic Red Fort. They were seen within the ramparts of the monument, trying to put up their yellow flags at the spot where PMs hoist the national flag. The police cleared and dispersed  the crowd within an hour.

A farmer told NDTV, "We came here to deliver a message to the Modi government. Our job is done. We will go back now."

SKM leader Baldev Singh said that efforts were being made to convince the farmers to show restraint and adhere to the police instructions. All-India Kisan Sabha finance secretary P. Krishna Prasad condemned the farmers’ action saying that they must adhere to the plan agreed upon with the police. Many leaders continued to urge the farmers on loudspeakers, "Don’t give anyone a chance to find fault with us".

At least one protester died at the junction when his tractor overturned as police fired tear gas. Whereas, several other farmers and police-personnel were injured, and some hospitalised.

On Sunday, Delhi Police had allowed the tractor march after the annual Republic Day parade. Three routes were cleared for the farmers to hold the parade - 63-km route near Singhu Border, 62.5 km-long route from Tikri border, a 68-km long route from Ghazipur border that divides Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. On Monday, one of the key participants - the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee - declared that it would not stick to the route agreed upon by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and the police.

Farm unions have been protesting on Delhi’s borders for 2 months now, demanding the repealment of the 3 controversial farm laws passed by the government.

Source: ndtv.com, thehindu.com, bbc.com, hindustantimes.com

Written by Siddhant Sharma