Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 25

A day ahead of their tractor march, farmers from Punjab and Haryana have reached Singhu and Tikri borders in large numbers leading to huge traffic snarls on Karnal–Delhi and Rohtak–Delhi stretches of two national highways.

Many more are still on the way leading to the slow movement of traffic on roads leading to the national capital.

Over 12-kilometre of NH-44, from Bahalgarh village to Singhu border in Sonipat district, is witnessing a massive traffic jam as farmers have parked their tractors on both sides of the highway.

In Jhajjar district, a 15-km long Bahadurgarh bypass is jam-packed with tractor-trailers forcing Punjab farmers to take Bahadurgarh city route to reach Tikri leading to traffic chaos.

Also read: Farmers’ rally in Mumbai: No police nod for march to Raj Bhavan

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Tractors, bearing tricolour have created a patriotic atmosphere at Tikri.

In Karnal, enthusiastic farmers continue to march towards Delhi on tractors, leading to complete traffic chaos on the national highway-44. Several farmers are marching on foot showing their resentment against the three farm laws passed by the Union government.

On the other hand, at Bastara toll plaza, in absence of male farmers who have left for Delhi, women have taken over the charge of the protest at the toll plaza, where the farmers have been sitting on dharna since December 25 to make the toll plaza free for commuters.

In Ambala, enthusiastic farmers continue to move on the Amritsar-Delhi National Highway.

However, the frequency of tractors passing on the NH seem to have decreased on Monday morning compared with the numbers of tractors seen over the last three days.

A majority of farmers from Ambala and Kurukshetra had left for Delhi on Friday or Saturday.

Gurugram police are not allowing entry of tractors on Delhi-Jaipur expressway and are asking the farmers to stick to the designated route.

Meanwhile, Haryana police have issued a traffic advisory for people travelling to or from Delhi on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

A spokesperson of the Haryana Police said that in view of the security and traffic arrangements for Republic Day and the proposed Tractor Rally, commuters will face traffic disruptions on NH between Karnal to Delhi and Rohtak to Delhi from 25-27 Jan 2021. Traffic on KMP-KGP Expressway will also be impacted and Interchanges at Kundli, Assaudha and Badli will not be accessible to traffic movement on these dates.

“Therefore, all commuters are being advised not to use these routes on these dates, to avoid any inconvenience,” said the advisory.

Ahmedabad, January 25

Around 30 per cent dismantling work of India’s decommissioned aircraft carrier ‘Viraat’ has been completed and the entire vessel would be dismantled in nine months, a Gujarat-based ship breaker has said.

Mukesh Patel, Chairman of the Shree Ram Group at Alang in Bhavnagar district which bought Viraat at an auction in July last year for Rs 38.54 crore, said the firm began the dismantling process in December.

The world’s longest serving warship was decommissioned by the Indian Navy four years ago. It is being dismantled with the help of around 300 trained workers at one of the plots owned by ship breaking firm, Patel said.

“We started the dismantling process in December last year and hope to finish the task in the next eight to nine months. We are following the global norms on eco-friendly ship breaking,” he said.

Viraat had reached the Alang ship breaking yard from Mumbai in September.

The centaur-class aircraft carrier was in service with the Indian Navy for 29 years before being decommissioned in March 2017.

There was a campaign on social media to save the warship and convert it into a maritime heritage museum but nothing came out of it.

The Centre in July 2019 informed the Parliament that the decision to scrap Viraat was taken after due consultation with the Indian Navy.

In a last-ditch effort, Mumbai-based Envitech Marine Consultants had approached Patel to acquire the ship for converting it into a museum, for which Patel had sought Rs 100 crore and an NOC from the Central government for the resale.

“I was ready to sell the ship for converting it into a museum and even delayed the dismantling for about two months. But that company could not procure the NOC from the Centre, which is mandatory in such deals,” said Patel.

At present, the ship is anchored around 300 metres off the shore and is being cut into pieces using gas cutters and heavy duty cranes. After a significant portion is cut, it will be pulled ashore next month for further dismantling, he said.

“The ski-jump was cut first when dismantling process began. To maintain balance and keep the ship afloat, we then cut apart the back portion and removed some metal from the middle. Reduction in weight will help pulling it ashore,” he said.

There is no clear estimate about how much metal would be salvaged from the ship, Patel said.

“All the memorabilia and parts like the steering wheel were removed by the Navy before the ship was handed over to us. Though the engine was there, propellers and shaft were removed before we received the possession, which is a standard procedure,” he said.

Viraat is the second aircraft carrier to be dismantled in India. In 2014, Vikrant was dismantled in Mumbai. — PTI

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 25

Even as confusion persists on what route the tractor parade will take on Tuesday, the volunteer group that is catering to the protesting farmers has made elaborate arrangements to ensure that the event remains uneventful.

Over 5,000 volunteers, drones, metal detectors and authorised participation slip to tractors are some of the ways that the volunteers have devised to contain any untoward incident or breakdown on the rally route.

As per the original route, tractors are to start from UP Gate and move towards Ghazipur after crossing Anand Vihar, Seemapuri and Mohan Nagar. The cavalcade will join the Kundli-Meerut-Palwal Expressway at Duhai and then return to their protest site in Ghazipur.

The entire route has been broken down into 12 zones, where volunteers will be present to regulate traffic or to help if any of the vehicles break down.

No tractor will be allowed to exit on this route until the cavalcade reaches Duhai. Four teams of volunteers have been provided with the metal detectors to check the tractors for firearms.

“We have to ensure that everything goes as per our plan. These volunteers have been trained while we have recruited around 2,500 for the tractor parade only,” Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait) activist Dharmendra Malik said.

“We have also decided to not allow anyone to join the parade if they don’t have a participation slip. No one will be allowed to halt and water will be provided for the moving tractors,” he added.

The volunteer group has also called in the drones to keep an eye on the parade besides filming the entire length of the parade.

“We also have a group of volunteers to operate the drones. Three teams will operate five drones for security purposes. The drones will also record the tractor parade. It is needed so that we can keep an eye on everything,” Malik said.

Mukesh Ranjan & Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Bathinda, January 24

The Delhi Police on Sunday said they had taken an in-principle decision to allow farmers to hold a tractor parade in the national Capital on January 26.

Special Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) Dependra Pathak said: “The rally will be conducted amid tight security after the Republic Day parade is over. We have received intelligence inputs hinting at disturbance of the peaceful protest.” He said the parade would enter Delhi from Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur borders and return to its originating points.

Read also: 300 Pak Twitter handles on job to disrupt tractor rally, say cops

Noting that the limit to the number of tractors will be finalised soon, Pathak said: “We trust the farmers that they will not camp in the Capital.” Barricades and other security arrangements will be removed on January 26, the police said. Meanwhile, the Malwa hinterland is witnessing great enthusiasm for the tractor parade.Tractor parade routes

Sporting Tricolour, flags of farmers’ unions and posters with anti-government slogans written on them, tractor-trailers in long and colourful cavalcades can be seen leaving for Delhi.

Several organisations are distributing essentials like ration, mattresses and quilts among the participants. Residents of Faridkot Kotli village have provided fibre sheets to protect the protesting farmers from water cannons, cane and rubber bullets in case of any action by the police.

To prepare themselves for the long journey, villagers have trained women to drive tractors, modified vehicles with increased engine capacity and stocked diesel, spare parts and tools among other things.

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Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, general secretary, BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), said: “The event is going to be huge. More than 40,000 tractor-trailers have left for Delhi from Khanouri in Sangrur and Dabwali border in Bathinda in the last two days.”

Panchayats of some villages have issued a diktat to residents to ensure participation of at least one family member or pay fine.

Villagers are also making announcements from gurdwaras, encouraging people to come out in large numbers.

Chandigarh, January 24

In view of the Republic Day function at Parade Ground in Sector 17, there will be traffic restrictions/diversions here on Tuesday. The following stretches around Parade Ground will remain closed from 6.30 am onwards till the time the function gets over.

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• From the Sector 16/17/22/23 roundabout up to Gurdial Singh petrol pump, Sector 22-A, on Udyog Path.
• From the Old District Courts, Sector 17, up to Shivalik Hotel on the rear side of Parade Ground.
• From the Lyon’s Restaurant light point near the MC office, Sector 17, up to Parade Ground.

Traffic diversion

Buses coming towards the ISBT, Sector 17, will be diverted towards the ISBT chowk, Sector 17, from the Kisan Bhawan chowk and the Piccadilly chowk via Himalaya Marg and will reach the ISBT-17 from the Small chowk (near Gurdial Singh petrol pump). In order to decongest this area at the time of dispersal, traffic will be diverted away from the ISBT-17 chowk on Udyog Path by diverting traffic coming from the Sector 17/18 light point, Aroma light point, Sector 18/19/20/21 chowk and the Cricket Stadium chowk for half an hour — from 11 am to 11.30 am. At the time of dispersal, only buses will be allowed to ply on this stretch.

Traffic advisory for ‘At Home’ function

In view of the “At Home” function on Republic Day at Haryana Raj Bhawan, the following traffic restrictions/diversions will be in place.

The road stretch from the Sukhna Lake T-point near the police post on Sarovar Path up to the Sector 5/6/7/8 chowk on Vigyan Path will remain closed for the general public from 3.30 pm onwards until the “At Home” function at the Haryana Raj Bhawan gets over.

“At Home” invitees are requested to approach the Haryana Raj Bhawan from the Sukhna Lake side on Uttar Marg as one-way traffic system will be implemented in front of the Haryana Raj Bhawan. — TNS

Security advisory

• Invitees are requested to be seated latest by 9.30 am at Parade Ground in Sector 17.
• Special invitees/attendees are requested to enter Parade Ground from gate numbers 3, 4 & 5 i.e. opposite the Sector 22 side.
• All attendees are requested to carry an original photo ID card.
• All attendees are requested not to bring any objectionable articles such as bag, match box, knife, cigarette, weapon, liquor, inflammable items, electronic devices, black flag and banners/posters.

No parking

No general parking will be allowed in the parking area in front of shops in the Sector 22-A market from 6.30 am onwards till the function gets over.

For special invitees

Special invitees having authorised car parking labels will have to approach Parade Ground from the Sector 16/17/22/23 roundabout (Cricket Stadium chowk) on Udyog Path and park their vehicles in the parking area in front of the Sector 22-A market.