'Delhi Chalo' agitation: Why are Punjab's farmers marching towards the capital? What are their needs?

Ahead of the “Delhi Chalo” march on February 13, authorities sealed border areas and deployed more than 5,000 security personnel to bolster the capital’s defences.

In addition to concrete roadblocks, road spikes, razor wire and thousands of police officers have been deployed at the interstate border.

Meanwhile, Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Nityanand Rai and Arjun Munda met farmers in Chandigarh on Monday to discuss the ongoing protests.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have announced that over 200 farm unions will march to Delhi on February 13.

Why are farmers protesting?

The farmers are holding massive protests with the aim of getting the Center to accept their list of demands.
Farm bodies have demanded a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP), which was one of the conditions they had set in 2021 when they agreed to withdraw their agitation against the now-defunct farm laws.
Thousands of farmers, including women and senior citizens, from around 100 villages also took part in the march, demanding higher compensation and development of land to replace land acquired by the local development authorities in Noida and Greater Noida in the past.
Besides legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP), farmers also demand implementation of Swaminathan Committee recommendations, pension for farmers and farm workers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases and support for victims of Lakhimpur Kheri violence Deliver “justice”.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora said Section 144 has been implemented across Delhi ahead of the farmers’ call to march on Delhi on February 13.

Section 144 has also been implemented at Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu borders in Uttar Pradesh to avoid any untoward incident and maintain law and order. As per the Delhi Police order, public gathering will be prohibited at all borders between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and adjacent areas under the jurisdiction of the North East district.

Delhi Traffic Police issued a warning ahead of the farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on Sunday. Police advise vehicle owners to follow prompts to learn about traffic restrictions/diversions.