Kisan Andolan: Final Batch of Farmers to Leave UP Gate Protest Site Today

Farmers who have been protesting at Delhi's borders for over a year are likely to leave the Uttar Pradesh border site (UP Gate) in Ghazipur today morning. Farmers have also gathered at the Singhu and Tikri borders to oppose the Centre's three farm laws. 

The barricades at the Singhu border were mostly disassembled on Tuesday, and the Ghazipur protest site is anticipated to be cleared today. 

Another police officer stated that the roadways near the Tikri border (on Rohtak Road) had been cleared for commuters and traffic is flowing on the stretch. 

Some farmers are still at Ghazipur due to which barriers are still there, according to Delhi Police. 

According to farmer leaders only a small batch of protesters remains at the Ghazipur protest location. 

"The other farmers have left moved out and the last batch will depart UP Gate on Wednesday morning."Rakesh Tikait will lead the last batch in a car, and the group will take the Hindon elevated road and then proceed on the Delhi Meerut Road towards Sisoli (Muzaffarnagar district)," Gaurav Tikait, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union's (BKU) youth wing, said on Tuesday. 

After the farmers leave the site, officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will evaluate the road to assess any damage to the infrastructure. However, there is no information on when the expressway's carriageway will be open for traffic. 

Farmers began leaving protest locations after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella group of farmer bodies, called a halt to the agitation following the repeal of the Centre's three farm laws and the government's concessions on other demands. 

The farm laws were repealed by Parliament on November 29. 

Farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, who lived in tents at the protest sites turned it into a second home.  Langars (community kitchens) were arranged, and many protesters' families participated. 

On November 26, last year, farmers laid siege to Delhi's Tikri and Ghazipur borders to protest the three laws and demand their repeal. 

That demand was fulfilled when Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated in his November 19 address to the nation that the three contentious laws will be repealed. The Union Cabinet swiftly approved the bill repealing the three laws, which was then passed by Parliament on November 29. 

A few days later, the Centre agreed to the farmers' unresolved demands, particularly those on minimum support price (MSP) and police cases. 

Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 were the three contentious farm bills.