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Delhi Metro: Gates of At Least 25 Stations Shut as Tractor Rally by Farmers Turns Violent

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on Tuesday closed at least 25 metro stations, mainly in central Delhi and north Delhi, as thousands of protesting farmers entered the national capital as they took out a tractor rally against the new farm reform laws.

The DMRC updated about the closures of the metro stations through its Twitter handle, saying that entry and exit gates of several stations on the green and yellow lines have been shut after clashes were seen in several parts of Delhi. The police used tear gas and lathi-charged protesting farmers after they broke police barricades in the morning to force their way into the city. Follow live updates here.

Police said the farmers also did not take the pre-decided routes for their march in the national capital. “Some groups of farmers did not relent and started moving towards the Outer Ring Road breaking police barricades,” an official said.

As a result, the DMRC shut down gates at the ITO, Indraprastha and Lal Quila stations in central Delhi. “Entry/exit gates of ITO metro station are closed,” DMRC tweeted, referring to the station in central Delhi’s ITO area where the protesting farmers reached. The Delhi Traffic Police had asked commuters to avoid routes where protesting farmers are conducting their tractor rally.

On the green line the Delhi Metro has shut the gates of the following stations: Brigadier Hoshiar Singh, Bahadurgarh City, Pandit Shree Ram Sharma, Tikri Border, Tikri Kalan, Ghevra, Mundka Industrial Area, Mundka, Rajdhani Park, Nangloi Railway Station, Nangloi.

In another update, the Delhi metro said that gates have also been shut of several stations in north Delhi. These are Samaypur Badli, Rohini Sector 18/19, Haiderpur Badli Mor, Jahangir Puri, Adarsh Nagar, Azadpur, Model Town, GTB Nagar, Vishwavidyalaya, Vidhan Sabha and Civil Lines.

Tuesday’s tractor rally is being held by farmers after eleven rounds of talks with the government failed to end the deadlock. The farmers have turned down the Centre’s last offer to put the laws on hold for a year and a half while a special committee formed by the Supreme Court conducts negotiations to end the stalemate.

Source: News18