Media reports on Saturday said that the Centre had suspended internet services at Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri border areas of Delhi. The three areas have been the key hubs of the ongoing farmers' protests against the three contentious farm laws.
ANI reported internet services in Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri and their adjoining areas had been suspended from 11pm on Friday until 11pm on January 31 (Sunday).
A circular from the ministry of home affairs said the decision to suspend internet services had been taken in interest of maintaining public safety and averting public emergency.
Since the violence during the tractor rally by protesting farmers on Republic Day, internet services in various parts of Haryana have been suspended. On Friday, the Haryana government extended the suspension of internet services to 14 more districts until Saturday evening. These districts are Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Panipat, Hisar, Jind, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad, Rewari, and Sirsa.
News agency IANS quoted a spokesperson of the Haryana government as saying that the suspension of internet services was extended to stop the spread of disinformation and rumours through various social media platforms. However, farmers' groups claim internet services have been suspended to prevent coordination among the various unions even as more farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh move to the protest sites on the outskirts of Delhi.
More farmers reach Ghazipur
Hundreds of farmers stayed put at the Ghazipur border on Saturday morning, as more supporters poured in at the protest site on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws at Ghazipur looked like it was going slim on Thursday, but more protesters have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also poured in from Haryana and Rajasthan.
"The movement was and is strong," BKU's Meerut Zone president Pawan Khatana told PTI.
Khatana, who is at the demonstration site with BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, said there has been continuous support for the "peaceful protest" for the farmers' demand for removal of the new agri laws.
"This is not a political protest. Anybody who shares the ideology of the BKU and Rakesh Tikait are welcome here. But it is our appeal to those who do not wish to support the movement till the end that please do not come only to leave in between," he said.
Asked about estimated crowd size at the site, the farmers' leader from western Uttar Pradesh said, "Farmers are coming in to show solidarity and leaving. It is not a stagnant crowd."
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The BKU office-bearers had estimated a crowd of around 10,000 people at Ghazipur while the Ghaziabad police officials pegged it around 5,000 to 6,000.
Heavy security deployment, including personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) in anti-riot gear and civil police, was made at the protest site.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police said to and fro movement on the National Highway 24 (Delhi-Meerut Expressway) has been closed.
(With PTI inputs)
