Support for the farmers' protest swelled on Saturday, as more villagers poured in at a key protest site on the Delhi- Meerut highway

Support for the farmers' protest swelled on Saturday, as more villagers poured in at a key protest site on the Delhi- Meerut highway in Ghazipur on the border with Uttar Pradesh.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws here looked like it was going slim on Thursday but more protestors have joined the stir, following a mahapanchayat of farmers on Saturday in Muzaffarnagar, while supporters also joined in from Haryana and Rajasthan districts.

Farmers' protest

"The movement was and is strong," BKU's Meerut Zone president Pawan Khatana said.

Khatana, who is at the demonstration site with BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, said there has been continuous support for the "peaceful protest" against the farmers' demand for removal of the new agri laws.

Asked about estimated crowd size at the site, the farmer leader from western Uttar Pradesh said, "Farmers are coming in to show solidarity and leaving. It is not a stagnant crowd."

Farmer unionsOn Saturday night, the BKU office-bearers had estimated a crowd of around 10,000 people at Ghazipur while the Ghaziabad police officials pegged it around 5,000 to 6,000.

Heavy security deployment, including personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force (RAF) in anti-riot gears and civil police, was made at the protest site.