Ghaziabad: On Sunday, November 28, 2021, scores of residents came out to attract the attention of farmers and authorities towards their commuting problems. It was a collective protest at the gates of Amrapali Village Society where residents from other nearby societies also participated.
It's been a year from the time farmers started their protest against the three farm laws on NH 9 (Delhi - Uttar Pradesh Border), blocking all vehicular traffic. For a year now the residents of Ghaziabad have been forced to take a longer route for traveling to Delhi. After the news of the impending withdrawal of farm laws, residents of societies of Indirapuram, Raj Nagar Extension, Vasundhara, Vaishali and Kaushambi started to voice their demand for the clearing of NH 9 through twitter.
Residents were tweeting their opinion under a hashtag by the name of #Rasta_kholo_andolan. A twitter user twitted
इंदिरापुरम, NH-24 पर स्तिथ @AmrapaliVillage अपार्टमेंट के हजारों लोग NH-24 के बंद होने से परेशान, कर रहे मांग 'किसान जल्द रास्ता खोले, हमे दिल्ली आने जाने में लग रहे 2 घंटे' #AVIANS!#एनएच्_24 #रास्ता_खोलो_आंदोलन ?
— ᴀᴍʀᴀᴩᴀʟɪ ᴠɪʟʟᴀɢᴇ ᴀᴩᴀʀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ ↗️ #ᴀᴠɪᴀɴꜱ! (@AmrapaliVillage) November 24, 2021
धन्यवाद @NavbharatTimes @AshuMishra_ हमारी आवाज़ बनने को। pic.twitter.com/x7yS4gITNl
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Another user twitted
Enough of road blockage, nobody should have right to cause inconvenience to other tax payers. #रास्ता_खोलो_आंदोलन https://t.co/XrsKpjos01
— Mahesh Sharma (@MaheshS37737560) November 29, 2021
Federation of Apartment Owners Association and the residents of Amrapali Village Society called for a protest at Amrapali Village society’s gate on Sunday, November 28, 2021. Scores of residents gathered at Amrapali demanding the removal of protesting farmers and the police barricades. As the protest started the police personnel stopped the residents carrying their protest outside the society premises for fear of a clash with the protesting farmers. Residents kept protesting inside the society for around two hours.
Alok Kumar, the founder of Federation AOA said, “We were silent for last one year. We supported the farmers' protest but this is the limit. Now when the Prime Minister has announced the withdrawal of the Bill, we must get our normal route back.”
Here is related twit from the Federation of AOA twitter handle:
कब सुनेगी सरकार। अब हों जाओं सब तैयार। @akhileshsharma1 @alokkumara1 pic.twitter.com/sAl07IngYc
— FEDERATION AOA GZB (@fedaoagzb) November 28, 2021
Sonu Malhotra, a resident of Amrapali Village says, “Our family is suffering because of this road closure. We have been drained physically, mentally, and financially for the last year. Now when the demand of farmers is accepted, our problem should also be considered."
Amit Kumar Sharma, another resident says, “Yes we are taking a longer route but the demand of farmers is also genuine. I think that if Delhi police will remove their barricades then the Ghaziabad people can easily pass through the service lane.”
“The protesters should leave the way after the law is repealed. Our children are not able to commute to Delhi for their studies”, says I B Prakash, a local resident.
“The residents were planning to march towards UP gate at NH9. This could have led to a conflict between residents and the farmers. We closed the society gate and restricted the residents to protest inside the society gate to maintain law and order”, says a local police official.
