Jaipur, Jan 11 (PTI) A day after blocking traffic on one carriageway of Jaipur-Delhi National Highway alleging that protesting farmers were creating unemployment and littering garbage in adjoining fields, local villagers returned home on Monday after Haryana police opened a slip lane on the highway.
On Sunday, locals near agitation site in Shajahanpur of Rajasthan's Alwar had pitched tents on one carriageway of the highway against the farmers' agitation.
Sumer Singh, a protesting villager said their work and employment have been adversely affected due to the farmers' blockade and demanded its immediate removal.
Farmer leader Rampal Jat, however, asserted that it is the Haryana police and not the agitating farmers who have blocked the highway as farmers wanted to march to Delhi but Haryana police have erected barricades to stop them.
Protesting villagers should put pressure on the Haryana police for removing blockade," he added.
Bhiwadi SP Ram Murti Joshi said senior officials of the Rajasthan and Haryana police met on late Sunday evening and discussed the issues with farmers and villagers after which slip lane on the highway in Shahjahanpur was opened by Haryana police.
The road was closed on December 31 after several farmers had forcibly crossed into Haryana border.
"The tension has eased after the opening of the slip lane and now there are no villagers on the highway," he said.
Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.
However, the protesting farmers have been expressing fears that the farm laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.
