Farmers' rally in Mumbai:No police nod for march to Raj Bhavan

Police have made tight securityarrangements at the venue of a farmers' rally here andprotesters are not allowed to march from south Mumbai to theRaj Bhavan, a senior police official said on Monday.

Thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra have cometo participate in a rally at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbaion Monday against the Centre's three new farm laws.

The All India Kisan Sabha's (AIKS) Maharashtra unit onSunday said the protesters will later march to the Raj Bhavanand submit a memorandum to Governor B S Koshyari over theirvarious demands.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) VishwasNangre Patil said, ''As per a Bombay High Court order, nomorcha is allowed in south Mumbai and we are convincingrepresentatives of the farmers to follow the court order.'' ''They are urging us to allow a morcha till the RajBhavan, but we have shown them the high court order. If theycome out of the Azad Maidan to go to the Raj Bhavan, we willtry to stop them and allow only their delegation to go to theRaj Bhavan,'' the official said.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made as alarge number people come to south Mumbai for work, he said.

''We don't want people to face traffic congestion dueto the morcha. There will be a smooth flow of traffic in southMumbai,'' the official said.

Two companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF)companies and over 800 personnel of the Mumbai police havebeen deployed for the rally, he said.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, thoseparticipating in the morcha should wear masks, he said.

The city civic officials, with the help of an NGO,have provided masks and sanitisers at the venue, he said.

''We are making continuous announcements to maintainsocial distancing,'' the official said.

Heavy security arrangements, including deployment ofwomen police personnel, have been made at the venue of therally to tackle any untoward incident, another official said.

Police personnel in plain clothes are also present atthe site, he said.

The rally is part of a call given by Samyukta KisanMorcha (SKM), a pro-farmer body, to intensify the struggletill January 26 over various demands of farmers.

The rally is being held to support and expand thetwo-month-long farmers' struggle in Delhi for a repeal of thethree farm laws and for a central law to guarantee aremunerative Minimum Support Price (MSP) and procurement allover the country, the AIKS said on Sunday.