A farmers' stir that was in the making since Sept 23

An astonishing crowd of farmers reached the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border on Tuesday with an aim to reach 'Kisaan-ghat' in the national capital and draw the Centre's attention to a host of their problems.

The farmers, led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), wanted to raise their concerns over implementation of the Swaminathan committee recommendations, power-bill waivers, the National Green Tribunal's ban on plying of over a decade-old vehicles, pending sugarcane dues, among others.

The farmers, estimated at around 25,000, were stopped at the Delhi border, where heavy police and paramilitary deployment were waiting for them at the UP gate on National Highway 24 -- the border of Ghaziabad-Noida-Delhi.

Around 700 tractors with customised extra-large trolleys stood parked on the road -- stretching over 1.5-2 km -- with each of them having mattresses and tarpaulins, providing resting place to elderly men and women who began their 'Kisan Kranti Yatra' on September 23 from Haridwar to ...