A protest by farmers in Gautam Buddha Nagar district, formerly Noida, in Uttar Pradesh gridlocked the eastern approaches to Delhi on Monday as the police put up barricades to prevent a march to the capital.

Various farmers’ groups have lined up protests on various issues during the winter session of Parliament.

Farmers from multiple groups marched on Monday under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Noida) seeking higher compensation for land acquisition. Police stopped them at different points in Noida.

The farmers are pushing for the speedy implementation of a 2011 Allahabad High Court order for a 64 per cent increase in land compensation and the provision for 10 per cent of the land area being developed as residential plots.

However, because of land shortages, many farmers have yet to receive the promised plots, which has led to recurring protests.

Some farmers staged a sit-in after the marchers gave up in the evening, unable to breach the barricades and reach the capital.

“We have been assured that our problems will be resolved after talks with the chief secretary are held. Till then, we will camp at the Dalit Prerna Sthal. We will not move forward, nor will we go back,” Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) leader Sukhbir Khalifa told reporters.

The protests led to serpentine traffic jams until afternoon. The spill-over into Delhi led to the Delhi-Noida Direct Flyway and the boundary with Uttar Pradesh at Chilla village getting choked with vehicles for hours.

Thousands of police and central forces guarded multiple layers of barricades in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to prevent a rerun of 2020-21, when the agitation against three (now revoked) farm laws had blocked two highways to Delhi from Haryana for months.

The national farmers’ umbrella group, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), has called for protests in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday against the privatisation of two electricity supply firms.

In Punjab, the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the SKM (Non-Political) have called for a march to Delhi on December 6. Talks have been held between these groups and Haryana government representatives in Ambala over the issue of permission for the march.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal — on a fast unto death at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana boundary to press for legally guaranteed MSPs and other demands — to persuade the protesting farmers not to obstruct highways and inconvenience people.

According to the BKP, farmers from 20 districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Aligarh and Agra, took part.

Carrying banners and flags of various farmer groups, hundreds of protesters crossed the initial barricades erected by the Noida police. While some climbed over the barricades, others pushed them.

They were finally stopped near the Dalit Prerna Sthal on the Noida link road, around 1km from the Chilla inter-state boundary. Senior police officers tried to pacify the protesting farmers.

Commuters travelling via Chilla, DND flyway, Delhi Gate and Kalindi Kunj faced traffic snarls for hours.

“It took me about an hour to get through that stretch (at Chilla). Police have set up barricades on both sides of the Delhi-Noida border, causing significant traffic congestion, especially on the carriageway from Noida to Delhi,” Aprajita Singh, a resident of Greater Noida, said.

Amit Thakur of Noida, who normally drives to work, said he had taken the Metro instead.

“When I checked the traffic situation before leaving for my office in central Delhi, it showed heavy congestion near the Chilla border, adding an hour to the travel time. So, I decided to take the Metro instead,” he said.

On Sunday, the Noida police had issued a traffic advisory informing commuters about route closures and diversions.

The Delhi police too put up multiple barricades and deployed security personnel at the Chilla and Kalindi Kunj interstate boundaries and the DND flyway.

Additional commissioner of police (East) Sagar Singh Kalsi said: “We have taken all precautionary measures, including anti-riot equipment. We are using drones for vigilance and are also coordinating with traffic police for smooth vehicular movement in the area.”