Police fired tear gas on farmers marching towards the national capital as they reached the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu Border in large numbers on Tuesday. Concrete slabs, iron nails, barricades, barbed wires, along with police and paramilitary personnel, were deployed at Kurukshetra in Haryana to deter the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by the farmers.
“Eleven companies are deployed here. We are ensuring there is no law and order situation and citizens do not face trouble in commuting. As of now, there is no march towards the Tikri border (with Delhi), but the situation is dynamic, and we are monitoring it using various sources,” said SP Jhajjar Arpit Jain.
To maintain law and order, Delhi police enforced Section 144, restricting entry of tractor trolleys and large assemblies. “Section 144 CrPC is imposed in the city, tractor trolleys are not allowed. Social media monitoring has also been done. Drones are effective tools for security monitoring, and we will use them,” stated DCP Dwarka Ankit Singh.
Heavy vehicular traffic was observed on the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) road from Noida towards Delhi due to multi-layered barricading at borders to prevent protesting farmers from entering the national capital.
Earlier, Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher expressed hope for a positive outcome, indicating efforts to avoid confrontation with the government.
Union Minister Arjun Munda stressed the importance of time and deliberation in addressing farmers’ concerns. “We care about the interests of the farmers. Our concern is not political. We are always ready for talks and discussions to find a solution,” he said.
Arjun Munda is part of the ministerial team engaging with farmer leaders, along with Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal, MoS Nityanand Rai, and Punjab Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal. The protest this time has been called by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha and Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee led by farmer union leaders Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher.
The farmers have presented 12 demands to the central government, including a guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, debt waivers, pensions for farmers and laborers, and scrapping the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020. They also seek reintroduction of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, punishment for those involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri killings, and various other measures for farmer welfare.
