The Union Home Office has extended the suspension of Internet access for farmers in Delhi and adjacent areas of Uttar Pradesh until February 2 to maintain law and order under the newly enacted Agriculture Law.
Media reports on Saturday said the center had blocked internet access for farmers and their family members to their farms in and around the Singhu Ghazipur district of Delhi for on February 1st. Traffic of people and supplies was disrupted as police erected four multi-layered barricades on the main highway between Delhi and Haryana, the Hindustan Times reported.
The UP government had also cut off the hands of the hundreds of farmers in Ghazipur who had camped out in the streets. Spikes were installed on the roads leading to the protest site, possibly to prevent the transport of tractors to and from Delhi. Strong security measures were also put in place around the streets, which the police lifted to prevent farmers from taking further action. Police also dug several ditches in the middle of the streets leading to protest sites and sealed off access to them from outside the capital, according to the statement.
ANI reported that Internet access to Ghazipur and its adjacent areas, as well as other parts of the city, was cut off.
This is not the first time that the Internet has been disabled in parts of Delhi recently. Internet outages have occurred in the past, including in Delhi Gurgaon, Ghatkopar, Jammu and Kashmir, and even in Kashmir. The government has imposed a ban on Internet access in Indian-controlled Kashmir after India rewrote the constitution to remove Kashmir’s protected autonomy.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union Lok Shakti, on the other hand, has resumed its protest against the government’s decision to withdraw support for the farmer’s protest.
The farmers have also accused the state of dictatorial behavior and warned Yogi Adityanath’s government that thousands are on their way to join the protests. BJP supporters and leaders have also attacked the farmers on social media, defending several journalists who have covered the issue.
To defy the threat, thousands of farmers gathered in front of the permanent barrier, which went viral on social media. Pictures showed police using tear gas against the peasants to stop them from approaching the city center. Protesters and police came from different directions as farmers tried to enter Rajpath.
Earlier, social activist Yogendra Yadav called on people to support farmers protesting at the Delhi border. He said the mood had changed as people realized farmers were protesting for the right thing. Gehlot praised the farmers for their peaceful protests over two months, but claimed they could not do anything like what happened at the Red Fort. Protesters have been told not to disturb the celebrations on Rajpath as farmers insist their parade is peaceful.
KU leader Rakesh Tikait, for whom Khatana was at the demonstration site, said: “We support the farmers and their right to behave. Meanwhile, it has been reported that protests against the government’s anti-farming policy in Uttar Pradesh will continue until February 2nd.
On Friday, the government in Haryana extended the Internet service suspension to 14 other districts until Saturday evening. Internet service in these areas has been suspended by the ministry.
Thousands of farmers arrived in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh on Friday to protest the government’s crackdown on right-wing leaders and their supporters. The protests appeared to dissipate after the fiasco of the Republic Day parade, but some reached the UP gate to join the fracas as security forces at the protest site thinned out overnight.
Media reports said the protest site was cleared after Delhi police shut down internet service in three places, the Union Home Office said. The three areas are Singhu Ghazipur, Gurdaspur and Gurgaon, the capital of Punjab and Haryana respectively. An order circulating on social media suggested that all areas of Singha Ghatkopar were affected by a power outage.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s traffic police said the Meerut expressway – and with it the artery on National Road 24 and the highway to Delhi – had been closed.