With about 20 tractors and hay bales, dozens of farmers from the province are blocking the busy intersection of the N235 and the N247 at Het Schouw in Broek in Waterland.
There are hay bales and tractors on the road so that traffic can no longer drive on. One of the protest signs reads: ‘The coal factory is running at full speed, so we won’t be able to farm later.’ It is not yet known until how long the road will be blocked.
Buses blocked
Several EBS buses are waiting to get through. “I just heard from a man that it can take all evening. We had 40 passengers with us, they have now started walking home,” one of the bus drivers tells NH Nieuws.
“I’m stranded and I can’t go any further. I have to go to Amsterdam-North,” says a passenger who is waiting at a bus shelter in the evening sun. Despite the fact that she is not coming home now, she understands the action. “I understand the actions, I support it.”
Talking to the police
Farmer Jan van Zanten from Zuiderwoude is also present at the action. “We deliberately did it after rush hour, so that people could come home,” explains Van Zanten. “We will continue until they agree with us. This is the start of a war.”
Van Zanten had a conversation with officers who went to the roadblock. He has agreed with these officers that ambulances and police cars may pass quickly. “The buses are unlucky,” he says.
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Farmers’ protests in the province have continued throughout the day. This morning Van Zanten set fire to a large mound of hay in a meadow near his farm as a protest.