Security personnel fired some tear gas shells on farmers on Wednesday morning at the Shambhu border near Ambala in Haryana as they gathered there to resume their protest march to the national capital.
The protesting ryots had had a faceoff with the Haryana Police at two border points between the states on Tuesday. Cops had hurled tear gas and water cannons as some of the protestors tried to break past barricades. Police had used tear gas and water cannons against protesters at a border in Haryana's Jind district as well.
Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, had said that they would return on Wednesday and try to press ahead with around 10,000 protesters at Shambhu.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation to put pressure on the Centre for their demands, including a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers.
Their march began around 10 am on Tuesday from Punjab's Fatehgarh Sahib, about 40 km from the Haryana border as farmers, including women, packed themselves in tractor-trolleys.
Over 200 farmers' associations, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab, are spearheading the protests, seeking the following demands:
Legal guarantee on the Minimum Support Price for crops
Implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission's recommendations with legal guarantee of procurement
Pensions for farmers and farm labourers hiked to Rs 10,000 per month
Farm debt waiver with a reduction in input costs
Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and comprehensive crop insurance payable for damage to each plot of land
No to increase in electricity tariff and no to use of smart metres as per the new electricity bill
200 days of employment every year with a daily wage of Rs 700 under MGNREGA
Withdrawal from the World Trade Organisation and ban on all Free Trade Agreements
Withdrawal of police cases against those involved in the 2020–21 farmers' agitation
Compensation for families of farmers who died during the previous 2020–21 agitation
Punishment for those guilty in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and compensation for those killed
A routine journey turned into a daunting ordeal for travellers at the ‘sealed’ Singhu border. People had to cross the Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana on foot on Tuesday as police blocked the movement of vehicles in view of a farmers' march towards the national capital.
Many were unaware that the border was sealed for traffic movement.
Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday urged the protesting farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.
Led by farmer leader P Ayyakannu, ryots in Tiruchy staged a 'road roko' protest on Tuesday and raised slogans in support of farmers marching to Delhi and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfill promises such as doubling farmers income and ensuring Minimum Support Price.
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (restrictions on assembly of people) all over Delhi city
Police barriers at several places in BJP-run Haryana on the highway to Delhi
At major entry points to the capital, layers of barriers set up, that include barbed wire, iron nails, concrete slabs, walls of containers, and tyre-bursting strips
Barriers placed at the Singhu and Tikri borders between Delhi and Haryana
Haryana has fortified borders with Punjab at locations in Ambala, Jind, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra and Sirsa
Riot control vehicles, water cannons, drones stationed at several places
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in 15 Haryana districts
Mobile internet services restricted in many districts of Haryana
64 companies of paramilitary personnel and 50 state police teams deployed across Haryana
Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ravindra Yadav, who visited the fortified Singhu border on Tuesday evening, told police personnel and paramilitary jawans deployed there that if the farmers manage to enter Delhi "our whole operation will fail".
"If they are coming aggressively, we have to show more aggression. Then only we can stop them. If they are aggressive, we need not be defensive," he told them using a microphone and loudspeaker.
Patiala Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmed Parray has written to the Ambala Deputy Commissioner, asking him not to send their drone to drop tear gas shells on farmers, inside Punjab's territory at the Shambhu border near Ambala
In a post in Hindi on his WhatsApp channel, Gandhi said, "Talked on phone to former soldier Gurmeet Singh ji, who was seriously injured in police atrocities during the farmers' movement."
"He is a youth as well as a farmer - instead of hailing him, this dictatorial attitude of the Modi government towards the country's protector and food provider is putting democracy to shame," Gandhi said.
In addition to digging trenches, the Delhi Police has also deployed a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) known as sound cannon, at the Singhu border to disperse protesting farmers if they reach Delhi.
An LRAD is a specialized loudspeaker that produces sound at high power-up to 152 decibels- which can be unbearable for humans. It was developed by the United States military in the early 2000s.
The sealing of Delhi's borders with neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in view of farmers' march may cause a hike in their prices if the agitation continues, vendors said on Wednesday.
Longer routes being taken by the truckers due to heavy security at the border points has led to delay in supplies reaching the city, as well as exports to other cities.
