Farmers protest Day 3: Ryots stay put at Punjab-Haryana border; talks with ministers begin in Chandigarh

On Wednesday, security personnel at Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana had used drone tear smoke launchers to drop tear gas shells at protesting farmers.

Third round of talks today, farmers set to resume march

Three Union ministers will meet farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Thursday for another round of talks as the faceoff between the protesting ryots and police at the Punjab-Haryana border entered its third day.

Since the farmers of Punjab and Haryana began their 'Delhi Chalo' march towards the national capital on Tuesday morning, there has been repeated clashes with the security personnel, with members of both sides sustaining injuries.

The protesting farmers are demanding minimum support price for their crops, amongst other demands. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the protest march.

The farmers at the Shambhu border point with their tractor-trolleys lining the road are still over 200 km from their destination - Delhi.

On Wednesday, at the Shambhu border point between Punjab-Haryana near Ambala city, security personnel used drone tear smoke launchers to release numerous tear gas shells whenever a group of farmers moved towards the multi-layer barricades. Security forces faced stone-pelting from a few of the protesters.

A similar standoff continued at the at Data Singhwala-Khanauri border in Haryana's Jind district.

On Tuesday, when farmers tried to shift cement barriers at Shambhu with their tractors, attempting to push towards Delhi, security personnel hurled rubber bullets and tear gas shells at them, leading to at least 100 protesters sustaining injuries. Police said 24 of their own men were injured in the stone-pelting by the protesters.

HIGHLIGHTS OF FARMERS' PROTEST DAY 1

HIGHLIGHTS OF FARMERS' PROTEST DAY 2

During their protest in 2020, farmers from different states, mainly Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, had staged a sit-in at the Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri borders. They sat there from August 2020 to December 2021.

Protestors, police injured

Farmer leaders claimed that over 100 protesters were hurt on Tuesday, hit by rubber bullets and tear gas shells. Police said 24 of their own men were injured in the stone-pelting by protesters during the first day of the protest.

What are the farmers' demands?

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

Farmer leaders-ministers meeting at 5 pm today

Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the meeting will with ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai will take place at 5 pm Thursday.

It will be the third round of meetings between the farmer leaders and the Centre in Chandigarh after farm organisations announced their plan to march to Delhi.

The two earlier meetings, held before the march began, remained inconclusive.

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 MSP, loan waivers and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations.

Commuters, citizens face ordeal

People had to cross the Singhu border between Dehi and Haryana on foot on Tuesday with buses from Delhi dropping them off much ahead of the Haryana border.

Farmers arrange water tankers, fly kites to counter police action

At the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, protesters have arranged tankers for water to counter the irritation caused in the eyes due to tear smoke

They also flew kites, hoping this would interfere with the movement of a drone spotted again on Wednesday.

Protective eye goggles too are being distributed.

VIDEO | A 'langar' has been organised at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border where goggles are being distributed among protesting farmers, to help them protect from the tear gas shelling by the security forces. pic.twitter.com/mCgx67Dj0w

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 14, 2024

'Can't treat farmers like they are criminals', says daughter of MS Swaminathan

Economist Madhura Swaminathan, the daughter of agricultural scientist, came out in support of the farmers and urged the government to stop treating them like criminals.

Speaking at an event to celebrate of the conferment of Bharat Ratna to MS Swaminathan, she urged the government and leading scientists to find solutions and take the farmes into account for future planning and strategies.

Notably, the protesting farmers are demanding the declaration of MSP for all crops based on the MS Swaminathan committee's proposed formula of C2+50% with legal guarantee of procurement.

"The Farmers of Punjab today, are marching to Delhi...There are jails being prepared for them in Haryana, barricades and all kinds of things to prevent them. These are farmers, they are not criminals. I request you all, the leading scientists of India, to talk to our Annadatas. We cannot treat them as criminals. We have to find solutions.... If we have to continue and honour MS Swaminathan, we have to take the farmers with us in whatever strategy we are planning for the future."

Madhura Swaminathan, Economist

Citizens undergo ordeal due to security arrangements

To visit her gynaecologist in Delhi, over eight-month pregnant Madhu Kumari on Wednesday trudged wearily on foot, trying to bypass the Singhu border made impregnable by the police using multi-layered barricades.

As a precaution, the streets and bylanes connecting Sonipat in Haryana to Delhi near the Singhu border were dug up to prevent the farmer protesters' 'Delhi Chalo' march from entering the national capital.

The commuters moving between Delhi and Haryana were either stuck up for hours on the closed borders or walked on foot to reach their respective destinations. Their plight was further aggravated by the trenches dug up on the bylanes and streets at the border.

Movement of vehicles was shut completely on the Singhu border flyover on Wednesday. Seven layers of barbed wires, spikes, concrete blocks, containers, and four to five layers of concrete barricades on both sides of the flyover have been put up. Drones are being used to monitor the situation.

TNIE EDITORIAL | A simmering overhang of issues

The focus of the current agitation is to bring in legislation to support minimum support prices (MSP). 

The farmers’ leaders say this should be in line with the Swaminathan Commission report that recommended MSP should be raised to at least 50 percent above the weighted average cost of production. Though M S Swaminathan has been posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, the core of his farm formula is yet to be implemented.

It is apparent that an overhang of issues had been left to simmer even after the government withdrew the three farm laws in November 2021.

The farm laws came under unrelenting attack as they aimed to bypass the mandi system guaranteeing basic price support and farm loans in preference of a ‘free market’ for buying agricultural produce. Farmers feared that a creeping corporatisation by strong financial groups would leave them defenseless. 

Price of farm produce, milk, poultry may surge if farmer agitation persists: Traders

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.

READ FULL REPORT HERE.

CBSE advisory for board exam students in view of traffic restrictions in Delhi

The CBSE has issued an advisory for students appearing in board exams in view of the traffic restrictions imposed in Delhi, advising them to leave their homes early and use metro services to arrive at the examination centres in time.

The board exams for Classes 10 and 12 will commence on Thursday. In Delhi, more than 5.8 lakh students will take the exams at 877 centres.

It cited the current situation in Delhi and said it is expected that there will be traffic issues that might cause a delay in reaching the examination centres.

"All the students are advised to leave their homes early so that they can reach well on time as per instructions issued by the CBSE. It is advisable to use metro services to reach the examination centres which are playing smoothly," it read.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issues a circular for schools, students, and parents ahead of the class 10th and class 12th board exams. pic.twitter.com/dr9c0AdMm9

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2024

Intense security in place, mobile Internet restricted

While BJP-run Haryana is not allowing protesters passage to Delhi, they face no restrictions in Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Punjab.

• Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (restrictions on assembly of people) all over Delhi city

• Delhi-Sonipat traffic at Singhu and the movement of vehicles to Bahadurgarh through Tikri are suspended; however, traffic movement remains unrestricted at Delhi-Ghazipur border

• Streets and bylanes connecting Sonipat in Haryana to Delhi near the Singhu border dug up

• Security personnel deployed at Singhu border tested a system that can generate extremely high-frequency sounds that may help in dispersing a crowd, according to sources. They said the system is called Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)

• Multiple layers of concrete blocks and metal spikes are placed at Delhi's Singhu and Tikri borders with Haryana as well as at the Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh

• At major entry points to the capital city, layers of barriers set up, that include barbed wire, iron nails, concrete slabs, walls of containers, and tyre-bursting strips

• Security personnel in anti-riot gear are deployed and drones used to keep an eye on the situation

Concertina wire laid down at Singhu border in view of farmers' protest march, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.PTI

• Police barriers at several places in BJP-run Haryana on the highway to Delhi

• 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

'Delhi Chalo' march: Key developments so far

• Three Union ministers will meet farmer leaders in Chandigarh Thursday for another round of talks at 5 PM

• On Wednesday (DAY 2), the 'Delhi Chalo' movement intensified as farmers made a fresh attempt to breach barricades; leaders strategizes at Shambhu border

• Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana persist at Shambhu border despite heavy security presence, readying tractors to dismantle multi-layered barricades

• On Wednesday, tension escalated at few Punjab-Haryana border points after security forces deployed drones to launch tear gas shells, rubber shells, water cannons; some farmers engaged in stone pelting

• Punjab authorities on Wednesday objected to Haryana's use of drone inside its territory at Shambhu

• Security arrangements and restrictions intensify across Delhi's borders at Singhu and Tikri to prevent vehicular movement

• Punjab govt has sounded an alert in hospitals located near the border with Haryana in the wake of many farmers getting injured

• Farmers and police personnel have sustained injuries, and are being treated at the Civil Hospital in Rajpura

• On Tuesday, farmers had clashed with Haryana Police at two border points between the states, facing tear gas and water cannons as they tried to break the barricades blocking their protest march to the national capital

Farmers continue their second day of the 'Delhi Chalo' protest march from the Haryana-Punjab Shambhu border, demanding a law guaranteeing MSP for crops, in Patiala on Wednesday. ANI

Centre created a situation worse than a battlefield against farmers: TN CM

Calling upon his party men to gear up for a three-day state-wide campaign titled 'Stalin's Call to Retrieve Rights', Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote a letter to DMK party cadres... "As I write this letter to you (DMK workers), the Union government has created an environment worse than a battlefield to suppress our protesting farmers. Will democracy last in India? Is the constitution in place?" Stalin, who is the president of the DMK asked.

'Panchayat' to discuss 'atrocities' on farmers

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday said a 'mahapanchayat' will be organised on Saturday at Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh to discuss the "atrocities" being committed on the protesting farmers in the country.

Farmers and activists of BKU from UP, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Haryana have been exhorted to attend the congregation to be held at the 'Kisan Bhawan' in Sisauli.

"Senior officials of Bharatiya Kisan Union of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Haryana will be present in this monthly panchayat," the BKU spokesperson added.

We have objection to farmers' method: Haryana CM Khattar

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday criticised the "method" adopted by farmers to press their demands, saying they are trying to march to Delhi like an army on the offensive. He said the farmers are moving with tractor-trolleys, earth-movers and ration for a year -- just like an army. "We have an objection to their method," Khattar said on the farmers' call for going to Delhi. "We do not have any objection to them going to Delhi. There are trains, buses and their own vehicles. But a tractor is not a mode of transport. It is an agricultural equipment. (Read more)

Internet services suspended in parts of Punjab till Feb 16

Internet services have been suspended in certain areas of Punjab's Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts till February 16 on the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The order came in the wake of the farmers 'Delhi Chalo' march.

According to the ministry order, internet services will remain suspended in areas falling under police stations Shatrana, Samana, Ghanaour, Devigarh and Balbhera in Patiala, areas under police stations Khanauri, Moonak, Lehra, Sunam, Chajli in Sangrur and area under Fatehgarh Sahib police station.

The Haryana government has already suspended mobile internet services and bulk SMS in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts.

Delhi Police has already stocked up a large number of tear gas shells and ordered 30,000 more from the BSF's Tear Smoke Unit (TSU) located at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, an official said.

Trains diverted as farmers squat on tracks in Punjab over action on 'Delhi Chalo' protesters

Some trains on the Delhi-Amritsar route were diverted on Thursday after farmers squatted on tracks at many places in Punjab over the Haryana Police's action against 'Delhi Chalo' protesters.

Farmers also staged dharnas at several toll plazas and forced authorities to not charge the commuters a toll fee.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakunda (Dhaner) had given the call for a four-hour 'rail roko' protest at several places in Punjab.

Farmers began their stir around 12 pm by squatting on rail tracks at several places.

The demonstrations are likely to continue till 4 pm.

As farmers are sitting on the railway tracks at several places on the main Delhi- Amritsar route, railway authorities diverted the routes of the trains via Chandigarh (for Delhi side) and Lohian Khas (for Amritsar and Jalandhar side).

A spokesperson of Indian Railways said Shatabdi and Shan-e-Punjab Express trains coming from Delhi were terminated at the Ludhiana railway station.

Siddaramaiah requests Madhya Pradesh CM to get detained Karnataka farmers released

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday requested his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Mohan Yadav to get the farmers from the state, who were detained in Bhopal while travelling to the national capital to participate in a protest, released.

A group of farmers from Karnataka travelling from Bengaluru to Delhi to participate in a protest against the "anti-farmer policies" of the Central government have been detained in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal without any reason, he said in a letter to Yadav.

It has been four days since the farmers have been detained and they have not been released yet, Siddaramaiah said.

"It is now learnt that your police authorities are shifting them to Varanasi.

Travelling to Delhi to participate in a peaceful protest is the Constitutional right of the people.

It is highly unfortunate that farmers who are seeking better policies are being arrested and ill treated by police authorities in Madhya Pradesh," the letter said.

'Government of Ravan' at Centre: Mamata slams BJP over farmers protest

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed the BJP over the ongoing farmers' protest, claiming that the party is running a "government of Ravan" at the Centre, which has crossed all limits of civility.

While speaking in the assembly, Banerjee said she had decided to postpone her scheduled visit to Punjab to express her solidarity with the farmers.

"Farmers are protesting and the country is burning. But the BJP is not bothered. It is the government of Ravan, which has crossed all Lakshman Rekhas.

The day farmers reach Delhi, the BJP leaders will understand the reality," she said.

Rajasthan Congress extends support to farmers’ bandh call

Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra said on Thursday that the party will support the call of bandh by farmers for their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price for their crops.

"Farmers have called for a bandh on Friday.

The Congress has also decided to support the farmers' strike call.

We will remain with the farmers' movement while ensuring that there is no violence, no damage to any government property," Dotasra told reporters at a press conference.

Targeting the central government on the farmers' movement, Dotasra said the BJP government at the Centre had made three "black laws" for a few industrialists and not for the benefit of farmers.

"The three black laws were imposed on the farmers for the benefit of a few industrialists and not for the benefit of farmers," he said.

VIDEO | Farmers' protest: A group of farmers prepare tea at Shambhu border.

Farmer leaders have said a meeting will be held with three Union ministers in Chandigarh on Thursday and they will decide the next course of action after it.#FarmersProtest

(Full video available on… pic.twitter.com/g2XTyXk1ej

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 15, 2024

Board exams held hassle-free despite high security measures at Tikri border

Despite heightened security measures at the Tikri border in view of the farmers' protest, board exams were held hassle-free and no delay was reported in the conduct of examination.

Vehicles were arranged by the police and paramilitary officials to help students reach their respective centres near the Tikri border.

"There are two schools close to the Tikri border metro station.

As they were walking towards their examination centres, we arranged vehicles for them so that they can reach on time," a senior police officer said.

Parents who were on two-wheelers with their children were also allowed by the police to cross the area, he said.

As board examinations are underway, SKM's decision to extend support to the the 'Delhi Chalo' march has concerned several students and their parents.

Farmer leaders' meeting with Union ministers begins in Chandigarh

Three Union ministers began their third round of talks with the leaders of protesting farmer unions in Chandigarh on Thursday evening.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26.

Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai are representing the central government in the meeting.