Farmers' March: Road Blocks Leave Delhi-Haryana Commuters Frustrated

The ongoing farmers' agitation, with its increasing focus on the national capital, has made travelling by road between Delhi and its neighbouring states hellish. Protesters, paranoid security personnel, and choc-a-bloc traffic have together turned the crossing of border into a huge task for regular travellers.

For instance, at West Delhi's Tikri border with Haryana, farmers have blockaded the Delhi-Bahadurgarh highway for the third straight day, refusing to move to the designated ground in North Delhi's Burari area offered by the Delhi administration.

For those travelling between Delhi and Haryana on this route, this block has brought life to a standstill. One of these days, several families, including women and children, were seen walking and dragging their luggage to cross the border.

One such woman spoke to NDTV. "There are eight of us in the family, including four women and two children. We live in Jhajjar and had gone to attend a wedding in Bhopal. We returned today to Delhi and want to head back home," she said.

"On a usual day we would have simply taken a bus from the Tikri border towards Jhajjar. But now roads are blocked and we are walking back. We will take the kuccha roads (side lanes) now and hope to get at least a rickshaw somewhere."

Those coming from Haryana towards Delhi, too, switch to other routes. At a border point called Jharoda Kalan, all private and commercial vehicles from Haryana, including places like Rohtak and Bahadurgarh, moving towards Delhi are being thoroughly checked. Drivers' and passenger details are being noted by the police. This has led to hours-long traffic jams.

"I have been stuck in the traffic jam for 3 hours. It is very difficult to travel like this," a man told NDTV.