Farmers to block Western Peripheral Expressway for 5 hours today to mark 100th day of protest

New Delhi: The farmers protesting the Centre's three farm laws will block the 135-km-long Western Peripheral Expressway for five hours on Saturday to mark 100 days of the stir. The call to block the expressway is a part of the strategy to intensify the ongoing protest which had begun on November 26.

According to a statement issued by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), thousands of farmers will block the expressway between 11 AM and 4 PM.

"March 6 will mark the 100th day of the farmers' protest on the borders of Delhi. On that day, there will be a 5-hour blockade on the KMP Expressway connecting various protest sites. The blockade will be between 11 AM and 4 PM and no toll will be collected at the toll plazas during this time," farmer leader Balvir Singh Rajewal said.

Those protesting at Singhu border will reach Kundli and block the toll plazas falling on the way while farmers from Ghazipur and Tikri borders will block Dasna and Bahadurgarh toll plaza, respectively. Those sitting on the Shahjahanpur border will block the road to Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway touching Gurugram-Manesar.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) requested the people to wave black flags at homes and offices to support the movement, and protest against the government.

The Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 2018. It provides a high-speed link between the northern and southern districts of Haryana. The road was built to decongest the roads of Delhi by reducing the number of trucks entering the national capital. It is a six-laned, with ten tolled entry and exit points, 52 underpasses and 23 overpasses.

Tens of thousands of farmers have been camping at the various borders of Delhi to protest against the three farm laws and have been demanding a repeal of the contentious laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP).

Multiple rounds of talks have taken place between the government and the farm leaders, but so far it has failed to end the deadlock.