Farmers vacate protest site, traffic resumes on Noida Expressway

Traffic along the Noida-Greater Noida expressway resumed on Monday evening after farmers who had gathered for the "Delhi Chalo" march agreed to vacate the protest site. The protest was led by the Bhartiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) and supported by other farmer organizations.

BKP leader Sukhbir Khalifa, after meeting with Noida authorities, announced that the farmers would give the Centre a week to address their demands, which include legislation on Minimum Support Prices (MSPs). In the meantime, the protest has been temporarily moved to Dalit Prerna Sthal (Ambedkar Park) on Noida Link Road. Khalifa warned that the march towards Delhi would resume if their demands were not met.

Earlier in the day, the protest caused massive traffic jams, particularly at the Chilla border, due to the barricades set up by the police to prevent the march. Commuters faced significant delays, with vehicles moving at a snail's pace.

"The police set up barricades on both sides of the Delhi-Noida border, causing significant traffic congestion, especially on the carriageway heading from Noida to Delhi. It took me about an hour to get through that stretch," Aprajita Singh, a resident of Greater Noida, told PTI.

The farmers, carrying banners and flags of various groups, initially gathered at the Mahamaya flyover around 11:30 am to press their demands for land allocation and increased compensation for lands acquired by the government. They managed to break through some barricades but were finally stopped near Dalit Prerna Sthal, approximately 1 km from the Chilla border.

Senior police officers engaged with the farmers in an attempt to pacify them. Despite this, Khalifa had declared on Sunday that the farmers were prepared to march towards Delhi if their demands were not addressed.

"We are ready for our march towards Delhi. Tomorrow, on December 2, we will start our march towards Delhi from under the Mahamaya flyover (in Noida). At noon, all of us will reach there and demand our compensation and benefits as per the new laws," Khalifa told ANI.