LIVE: Farmer leaders say they will hold hunger strike, dharnas tomorrow
Security at various borders across the national capital has been tightened as the protesting farmers have threatened to intensify their protest against the Centre's new agri laws and block the Jaipur-Delhi highway on Sunday. Thousands of farmers have been protesting at various border points of Delhi for over two weeks, demanding repeal of the new farm laws. They said major highways linking the national capital will be blocked from Sunday and they will sit on a hunger strike on December 14, when they have called for a nationwide protest. Adequate arrangements have made and these include multi-layered barricades and deployment of extra personnel. Measures have also been taken to ensure commuters do not face inconvenience at places were protest are being staged, a senior police officer said.
The Delhi Traffic Police has deployed its personnel across important border points to ensure commuters do not face difficulties and is also constantly updating people about open and closed routes on its Twitter handle. The developments come after farmer leaders on Wednesday rejected a government proposal to amend the new agri laws and announced that they would intensify their agitation by blocking the Jaipur-Delhi. The government had asked farmer groups to consider its proposals for amending the laws to address their concerns and said it was open to discussing its offer further whenever the unions want. On Saturday, farmer leaders said they are ready to hold talks with the government, but will first discuss repealing the three new farm laws. They also announced that representatives of their unions would sit on a hunger strike during a nationwide protest on December 14.
