India blocks mobile internet at sites of farmers’ protest

NEW DELHI: India blocked mobile internet services in several areas surrounding Delhi on Saturday as protesting farmers began a one-day hunger strike after a week of clashes with authorities that left one dead and hundreds injured.

Angry at new agricultural laws that they say benefit large private buyers at the expense of producers, tens of thousands of farmers have been camped at protest sites on the outskirts of the capital for over two months.

A planned tractor parade on Republic Day last Tuesday turned violent when some protesters deviated from agreed routes, tore down barricades and clashed with police, who used teargas against them.

India’s interior ministry said on Saturday internet services at three locations on the outskirts of Delhi where protests are occurring had been suspended until 11pm (1730 GMT) on Sunday to “maintain public safety”.

Indian authorities often block internet services when they believe there will be unrest, although the move is unusual in the capital.

At the main protest site near the village of Singhu on the northern outskirts of the city, there was a heightened police presence on Saturday as hundreds of tractors arrived from Haryana, one of two states at the centre of the protests. Tensions have been rising since a mass tractor rally on Tuesday turned into a rampage across Delhi where clashes between farmers and security forces left one dead and hundreds injured.

At least 10,000 new protesters have arrived since Thursday to bolster the campaign, according to observers.

In the camps, many farmers held a one-day fast on Saturday — the 73rd anniversary of the assassination of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi — in a bid to show their tactics are peaceful.

But outside, on top of the internet cut, police blocked a main road into the Ghazipur camp on the outskirts of Delhi.

Additional security forces were deployed after clashes erupted Friday between farmers and opponents of their campaign.

Some local groups say they want the protesters to go home but the farmers’ leaders are adamant they will stay. There have been accusations that right-wing activists have manipulated the counter-protests.

The new laws allow farmers to sell their produce on the open market after decades of selling to state-run bodies.