Removing barricades from Singhu border a tough task for Delhi Police

Mukesh Tandon

Sonepat, April 19

After a writ petition was filed by three Panipat residents, the Delhi Police have begun breaking the concrete walls at the Singhu border, bringing relief to thousands of commuters after 66 days. However, it has become a herculean task for the police itself to break the concrete-iron mixed walls. Sources said it would take more than three-four days to make the highway fit for smooth flow of traffic.

Will take 3-4 days to remove concrete

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Subhash Gupta, president, Kundli Industrialist Association, said the Delhi Police had made the barricades with reinforced cement concrete, now it had become very tough for them to clean the concrete from the road. These barricades are too strong and it would take 3-4 days to clear the concrete, he said.

The Delhi Police have pressed heavy machines and cranes into service to clean the lanes on the flyover.

After experiences from the previous farmers’ protest on the Singhu border in 2020, the Delhi Police had put up heavy barricading on the flyover and on the service lanes to stop the entry of the protesting farmers on February 13.

The Delhi Police had laid the multilayer barricading with the cemented and iron barricades with barbed wires and built-up concrete-iron mixed walls on the border. However, the farmers have been stopped on the Shambhu border, but the Singhu border was blocked for the last 66 days.

On the demand of the local people, industrialists, shops and showroom owners, the Delhi Police had opened the service lanes for the vehicular movement on February 29 but the main flyover was lying sealed.

After the three persons filed a petition in the Delhi High Court and the regular meetings of the industrialists and other officials of the government with the Delhi Police, the machineries have been pressed into the service on the border to remove these barricades.

But, it has become a very tough task for the Delhi Police and the administration to remove these. The Delhi Police have also deployed persons who were cleaning the roads by cutting iron rods with gas cutters.

Subhash Gupta, president, Kundli Industrialist Association (KIA), said the Delhi Police had made the barricades with reinforced cement concrete (RCC), now it had become very tough for them to clean the concrete from the road.

These barricades are too strong and it would take three to four days to clear the concrete, Gupta said. This has happened only with the joint efforts of the people and administration, he said. “We had held several meetings with the Delhi and Sonepat police and administrations and also filed an online petition, which was signed by over 1,200 persons. A writ petition was filed by three persons of Panipat for opening of the Singhu border,” Gupta said.