Farmer unions claim Delhi police nod for 100-km tractor rally on Republic day

New Delhi, Jan 23: Farmers protesting the central government's new agricultural laws claimed that they had got the permission to enter Delhi for their tractor rally that is slated to be staged on Republic Day.

Farmers have been allowed to enter Delhi and travel up to 100km distance on each route, farmer leader Darshan Pal said. Over two lakh tractors will be part of the January 26 ''kisan parade'' in the national capital and around 2,500 volunteers will be deployed to facilitate the movement of the vehicles.

The number of volunteers can be increased, depending on the crowd, and a control room has been set up to look into the arrangements.

The tractor parade will start from the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri border points of Delhi, but the final details of routes are yet to be finalised.

Each volunteer will be given badges, jackets and identity cards. They will follow the tractors on jeeps. Some of them might even join farmers on tractors if required.

Dhudike, who presided over a meeting of Punjab farmers'' unions, said that more than one lakh tractors are expected to arrive from the state on Sunday.

The main focus of the meeting was to discuss about the tractor parade to be taken on Republic Day, Singh said after the over three-hour-long meeting at Singhu.

"Farmers will take out 'Kisan Gantantra Parade' on January 26. Barricades will be opened and we will enter Delhi. We (farmers and Delhi Police) have reached an agreement on the route, final details are to be worked out tonight," Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India told reporters.

"We will take out a historical and peaceful parade and it will have no effect on the Republic Day parade or the security arrangements," he added.

The tractor parades will start from the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri border points of Delhi, but details will be finalised tonight, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said after attending a meeting between the unions and the police.

Kohar claimed that the Delhi Police has given its nod to the farmers'' tractor parade on Republic Day in the national capital.

Talking to reporters, another farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni said that as thousands of farmers will participate in the parade, there will be no single route.

Farmer leader Darshan Pal said that barricades set up at Delhi border points, will be removed on January 26 and farmers will take out tractor rallies after entering the national capital.

Since November 28 last year, farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting against the laws at several Delhi border points, including Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, and demanding the legislations be repealed.