New Delhi: Amid continued blockade of key roads connecting Delhi to NCR regions by farmers protesting against farm laws, the Haryana Government has told the Supreme Court that it was making “sincere” efforts to remove the blockade for resumption of free flow of traffic.
“Sincere efforts are being made to remove the blockade from inter-state roads and national highways and to resume free flow of traffic on those roads for the convenience of the general public by way of persuading the farmers’ organisations to cooperate,” the Haryana Government said in an affidavit filed in the top court. Regular deliberations were being held by local administrations with farmers’ organisations from time to time to convince them to remove the blockade as the general public was facing great hardship due to such blockades, it added.
Giving details of its efforts, the Haryana Government said a state-level committee headed by the Additional Chief Secretary was formed to find a way out. The committee’s September 19 meeting wasn’t attended by the farmers’ leaders. However, industrialists from Sonipat, hit by the blockade, turned up for the meeting on their volition and narrated the “myriad difficulties” faced by them due to the blockade since November last year.
Earlier, the UP Government had also submitted in an affidavit that it was making all efforts to convince farmers that their act of blocking roads was causing grave inconvenience to commuters.
While hearing a petition filed by Monicca Agarwal of Noida, a Bench led by Justice SK Kaul had on August 23 asked the Centre and governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to find a solution to the blockade of roads.