Over a week after hundreds or irate farmers began marching to Delhi to register their protest against recent farm laws passed by the government, things seem to be at an impasse. The protests continue, and thus far talks with the government has not yielded any concrete results.
A crucial fourth round of talks between the Centre and over 34 farmer union representatives had taken place on Thursday, even as the farmers protest entered the eighth straight day with thousands sitting on different Delhi borders blocking essential supply chains to the city.
Here are the latest updates summed up in five succinct points:
1. A seven-hour long meeting on Thursday at Vigyan Bhawan has led to no concrete results, even as the famers say that the government had agreed to make some amendments in the farm laws.
2. This however has not been received well, with the representatives of the protesting farm organisations stating that they would continue their protests until the laws were repealed.
3. A fresh round of talks is expected to take place tomorrow, December 5. At the same time, some of the farmers have indicated that if the government does not soften its stance further, they would not be attending the meeting on Saturday.
4. In the meantime, many on Twitter (including the Tribal Army) are calling for a Bharat Bandh on Saturday in solidarity with the farmers. It is not clear yet whether this will disrupt normal life across the country.
5. The farmers' protest continues in the meantime, with several roads connecting Delhi to the neighbouring states being blocked. According to updates shared by the Delhi Traffic Police, the latest road to be thus affected is the Gazipur border between Uttar Pradesh and Delhi border on NH-24. People are being advised to avoid the road as it has been closed for traffic from Gaziabad to Delhi due to farmers' protests.
