Singhu Border Fully Functional After 404 Days as Delhi Police Remove All Barricades

The Delhi Police on Monday completed the removal of all barricades and debris from the Singhu border after 404 days of restrictions, restoring normal traffic flow on the busy National Highway-44 connecting Delhi and Haryana.

MLA Nikhil Madaan, who visited the Singhu border to assess the situation, stated that the BJP government had successfully made the national highway fully operational again. "With the complete opening of the border, lakhs of people going to Delhi would get relief from the long jams, as would industrialists, workers, traders and farmers of the region," Madaan said. 

Barricades Installed During Farmers' Protest

The Delhi Police had sealed the border on February 13 last year in response to the farmers' protest 2.0 movement. Authorities had implemented multi-layer barricades on both the main carriageway and service lanes of NH-44 to prevent protesting farmers from entering Delhi. Meanwhile, the Haryana Police had intercepted the farmers at the Shambhu border. 

Gradual Reopening Process

The reopening of the Singhu border has been a gradual process. The police initially restored access to service lanes, followed by the opening of single lanes on the main carriageway (flyover) on March 13 last year. However, two lanes on each side remained barricaded for over a year, causing significant traffic congestion. 

During the blockade period, commuters faced hours-long traffic jams daily. The situation improved when Delhi Police completely cleared the carriageway on the Delhi-Panipat lane on Sunday, making it fully motorable.

Complete Reopening 

The final phase of reopening took place on Monday with the removal of barricades and debris from the Panipat-Delhi lane, making the entire road fully functional for the first time in over 13 months. 

Subhash Gupta, director of the Kundli Industrial Association (KIA), confirmed that the Singhu border has been opened with no traffic jams on the carriageway. "Thousands of commuters, industrialists, employees in private and government jobs would benefit," he noted. 

The reopening comes within four days of the eviction of protesting farmers from the Shambhu border, marking the end of significant disruptions that had affected the National Capital Region's northern transportation corridor for over a year.