NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has placed an order of around 30,000 teargas canisters with the Border Security Force’s Tear Smoke Unit at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, to prevent farmers from entering the city, officials said on Thursday.
A teargas canister consists of aerosolised solid or liquid compounds and works by irritating mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs. It causes sneezing, coughing, difficulty in breathing, pain in the eyes and temporary blindness.
The farmers began their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 13 from Punjab but failed to breach the barricades at the Shambhu border.
Another official said that the age of a teargas shell is three years after which its impact weakens. A teargas shell is used for up to seven years for practice purposes by the forces.
Under Delhi Police norms, once a stock is acquired, the shells are distributed among the district police and other units of the force. Officials said, given the farmers’ protest, the fresh stock may be distributed among the outer, outer-north and east district police — under whose jurisdiction the potential protest sites in the national capital fall.