Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday said that farmers will not go back home till govt resumes dialogue with them to resolve their pending demands.  “The struggle will continue. The government should talk to farmers about the issues related to them or else we are not going to go away. Meetings will be held all over the […]

New Delhi Aug 23 PTI The Supreme Court Monday said the Centre and Delhis neighbouring states should find a solution to road blockades on the national capitals borders due to farmers protest against the three farm laws passed last yearAt the outset of the hearing a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Mukherjee told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre What is happening Mr Mehta Why cant you find a solution You have to find a solution to this problem They have the right to protest but at the designated places Due to the protests inflow and outflow of traffic cannot be disruptedThe bench said this will have an impact on toll collection as well because vehicles will not be able to pass through due to the blockadesMehta informed the bench that petitioner Monica Agrawal a Noida resident who has sought removal of blockade is not available due to connectivity problems as she is in some rural areaThe bench then ordered Solution lies in the hands of the Union of India and the concerned state governments They have to coordinate to find a solution that when a protest takes place roads are not blocked and traffic is not disrupted to cause inconvenience to the common peopleMehta said that if the court is willing to pass some orders then two farmers unions can be made parties and he can give their namesThe bench said that tomorrow another two unions will come forward and say they represent the farmers and this will go onThe top court asked Mehta during the brief hearing Please workout something and posted the matter for further hearing on September 20On March 26 the top court had issued notice to Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on the pleaThe Uttar Pradesh government has said in its affidavit that continuous efforts are being made to remove the blockade at the Delhi-UP border and there at present about 141 tents and 31 langars around the area and the protestors have installed a platform on the flyover from where the leaders give speeches a media house has also been made below the flyoverAt present there are about 800-1000 protestors in the area however a crowd of up to 15000 protestors collect on their calls within hours from adjoining towns and villages the affidavit saidIt said protestors had organised a tractor march on January 7 up to Palwal in Haryana and then again on January 26 they went up to the Red Fort on tractors without permission and indulged in large scale violence with the police authorities in Delhi for which several criminal cases have been registered against themThereafter the Delhi police closed the road by putting barricades on the way from Delhi to Ghaziabad on NH-249 the state government said adding that after persistent efforts of the authorities one lane from Delhi to Ghaziabad was cleared for movement on March 15For incoming traffic from Ghaziabad to Delhi diversions have been made by Ghaziabad police and Delhi Police through alternate routes like Maharajpur Border and Hindon canal road it saidThat pursuant to the orders dated March 26 passed by this court the police and the state administration have approached the protestorsfarmers with the orders passed by this court and have made tireless efforts to make them understand their grossly illegal act of blocking roads causing grave inconvenience to the travel it saidThe state government further said that large numbers of the protesters are very old and aged farmers from various districts of the state who are required to take precautions during the COVID-19 wave and that the efforts of intervention are still in progressSimilarly the Haryana government also told the top court that protesters staging dharna at Singhu border have been camping on about 6 kilometres stretch of lanes of NH-44 since November 27 last yearAll lanes were initially blocked by using tractors trolleys and other vehicles At present at least one lane on both sides has been opened after efforts made by the district police for movement of public vehicles it said adding that suitable diversions of traffic are being made to divert traffic and it has been able to maintain public order at both the sites that is at Singhu border and Tikri borderA large number of women including children along with the farmers are protesting and persuasive methods have been deemed more appropriate instead of use of force at both the sites the state government said adding that appeals are being made to the farmers organisations to vacate both the sites from time to timeThe farmers are protesting against passage of three laws-Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce Promotion and Facilitation Act 2020 Essential Commodities Amendment Act 2020 and Farmers Empowerment and Protection Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020Initially the protests started from Punjab in November last year and later spread to Delhi Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and some other parts of the countryAgrawal has claimed in her plea that it had become a nightmare to travel to Delhi from Noida as it takes two hours time instead of the usual 20 minutes She has sought removal of blockades so that passenger traffic is not affected PTI MNL SA