India / No further internet cut at Delhi borders as of now: MHA official

A Home Ministry official has said that there has been no further extension of internet ban at the Delhi borders "as of now". The official claimed the suspension was to "maintain public safety and [to] avert public emergency". The government had suspended internet at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders on January 30, which was later extended till February 2.

Vikrant Shekhawat : Feb 04, 2021, 08:16 AM
New Delhi: There has been no further extension of the Internet suspension at Delhi's borders which was till the night of February 2, a Union Home Ministry official said on Wednesday.

The ministry had announced suspension of Internet at the three Delhi border points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur where farmers protests are underway from 11 pm on January 29 effective till 11 pm on January 31.

Later it had extended the suspension till 11 pm on February 2, with a ministry official saying the decision was taken to "maintain public safety and averting public emergency" under Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules 2017.

"The MHA has not further extended the suspension of internet in Delhi's borders as of now," the ministry official told PTI.

Thousands of protestors are camping at Delhi's borders since November with a demand that three new agri-marketing laws be repealed and minimum support price for crops guaranteed, even as the government has maintained that the legislations enacted in September are pro-farmer.

The ongoing protests also resulted in violence in the national capital on Republic Day during which hundreds of people, including policemen and women, were injured and one protestor died after his speeding tractor overturned.