Farmers' march: Massive traffic gridlock on Delhi-Meerut Expressway as police intensify checking

GHAZIABAD: For the second consecutive day, traffic on the Ghaziabad-Delhi border remained affected as the Uttar Pradesh and Delhi Police continued checking vehicles on Tuesday, leading to congestion on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME).On Monday, traffic snarls were reported on the DME due to vehicle checks following a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.On Tuesday, around 100 farmers from Meerut, Baghpat and other nearby areas, who had begun marching towards Delhi to participate in a Kisan Mahapanchayat against the proposed India-US trade deal, were stopped by the Ghaziabad Police. Following this, some farmers sat on the DME in protest, and it took more than 15 minutes for the police to clear the road.During the campaign, every suspicious vehicle and person was thoroughly checked as part of security arrangements. Intensive checking of suspicious persons and vehicles was also carried out to maintain law and order.ACP Suryabali Maurya, said the farmers were sent back and that forces from three police stations — Khoda, Kaushambi and Indirapuram — were managing the law-and-order situation at the border. Delhi Police were also checking vehicles on their side of the border.A senior police officer said vehicle checking by the Ghaziabad and Delhi Police began around 8am. Police forces remained deployed at the border.Mala Tiwari, a commuter, said she was going to receive her mother at New Delhi railway station but got stuck in traffic. It took her more than 45 minutes to cross the Ghaziabad-Delhi border.“I left home around 11 am and reached the railway station at 1.15 pm, but my mother had arrived at 12.15 pm. She is around 65 years old, so I asked her to wait for me on a bench for more than an hour,” she said.