Farmers’ ‘langar’ reaches KMP Expressway amid 5-hour blockade

New Delhi : After Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders, as well as the Vigyan Bhavan where multiple rounds of talks were held between the government and the agitating farmers, the famous farmers’ ‘langar’ on Saturday reached the 136-km Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, which was blocked for five hours to mark the completion of 100 days of the ongoing protest against the three Central farm laws.Hundreds of farmers had lunch on the operational six-lane KMP Expressway, which they blocked between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. as part of their ‘chakka jam’ to press their demand of repealing the three agricultural laws which were enacted in September last year, terming them as “black laws” and “anti-farmer”.The menu included rice, rajma and roti, which were served to the protesters sitting on the road. Tea, ‘pakodas’ and biscuits were also distributed among the farmers. The food items for the ‘langar’, a kind of community meal, were brought by farmers’ associations from outside.The protesting farmers have been enjoying ‘langar’ at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders where they are sitting on an indefinite protest against the three farm laws since November 26.Even during the multiple rounds of talks with the government at the Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi, the farmer leaders refused to eat the food on offer and instead opted for the ‘langar’ organised in by their supporters from outside.The call for blocking the KMP Expressway was given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of protesting farmers’ unions spearheading the agitation against the agriculture-related legislations. The 136-km Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway is also known as the Western Peripheral Expressway.To block the KMP Expressway, farmers in Sonipat brought their tractor-trolleys and parked them in the middle of a stretch of the expressway, creating traffic congestion. The protesters, carrying black flags, also raised slogans against the Central government.