On 72nd Republic Day, the National Capital is all set to witness two sets of parades. The first parade will happen to mark the celebrations of Republic Day at Rajpath. The second parade will involve thousands of farmers, who have been camping for more than 2 months at various border points, all set to enter Delhi to hold the proposed tractor parade – a symbolic protest against the three farm laws. The Delhi Police on Sunday granted permission to the protesting farmers to hold the tractor rally in Delhi on the condition that they don't disturb the formal celebration at Rajpath.
Here’s everything you need to know about the tractor rally by farmers
What is the proposed tractor rally?
The protesting farmers from across the country are marching towards Delhi to take part in the tractor rally. Tractors have been brought in from the various parts of the country at Delhi’s five border points – Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur, Palwal, and Shahjahanpur - to take part in the tractor parade to protest against the three contentious farm laws. The participants will hold a symbolic protest and will depict a “farmer’s life” through various performances, stunts, and tableaux.
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When is the tractor rally going to start?
The tractor parade will begin at 10 am on Tuesday morning.
How many tractors are going to take part?
Delhi Police has said that more than 15,000 tractors are present at the Delhi border point and they are expecting more tractors to trickle in on Republic day. Thousands of tractors will join-in from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Farmer unions on Saturday also claimed that as many as 50,000 tractors have already passed through borders between Punjab and Haryana.
What is the route of the rally?
The Delhi police has approved a total of almost 200 kilometers route, out of which 100 kilometers will fall in Delhi, for the protesting farmers, with Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur being the three main entry points.
From the Singhu border, a route of 63-kilometers has been cleared and the rally will pass through Kanjhawala, Bawana, Auchandi border, KMP Expressway.
For the Tikri border, a 62.3-kilometer route has been granted for the farmers to take out the tractor rally. The rally will pass through Najafgarh and Western Peripheral Expressway.
For the Ghazipur border, a 68-kilometer route has been cleared for the rally, which will passthrough Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Expressway.
What are the security arrangements?
Delhi Police has stepped up the security efforts and intensified patrolling with multi-layered security arrangements across Delhi. More than 40,000 police, ITBP, and CRPF personnel will be deployed at Singhu, Tikri, and Ghazipur borders. To nab miscreants, frisking at the airport, bus, metro, and railway stations have been tightened. Farm unions have also given assurances that no untoward incident will occur and tractor rally will remain peaceful.
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