‘Chakka Jam’: Red Fort turns fortress
New Delhi: The Delhi Police has turned the Red Fort into an impregnable fortress with barricades and trucks loaded with mud to stop any surprise intrusion by protesters on Saturday. Cranes were used to place boulder barricades as a precaution in the wake of the farmers’ call for a nationwide ‘chakka jam’.
Senior police officers supervised the security arrangements at Red Fort.
Delhi Police Commissioner S.N. Shrivastava also visited Shahidi Park and reviewed the security arrangements. He spoke to senior police officers and was briefed about the preventive measures undertaken.
More than 55,000 policemen have been deployed at various strategic points in the national capital.
The Delhi Police is also geared up to tackle any surprise elements, including ‘flash mob’ tactics and protest call on social media on Saturday as the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and other farmer organisations are set for a nationwide three-hour ‘chakka jam’.
Despite the agitating farmers’ assurance that the ‘chakka jam’ would not be implemented in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi, the Delhi Police as a precautionary measure have intensified security arrangements with special focus on border areas where the farmers have been protesting since November 26 last year.
Farmers block roads in Punjab and Haryana
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday put up road blockades at national and state highways at most of the places as part of a nationwide ‘chakka jam’ in protest against the three farm laws and demanded these be withdrawn, causing inconvenience to commuters.
Emergency and essential services like ambulance and school bus will not be stopped, said the protesters. However, there was no report of violence from anywhere in both the state.
The nationwide call from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. was given by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee.