The farmers’ stir entered its second day on Wednesday with chaotic scenes witnessed at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border where police lobbed tear gas shells and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
The local police stood their ground and continued to stop the protesting farmers from heading towards the national capital.
Farmer leaders, however, reiterated their willingness to keep the door open for talks with the central government to resolve the issues plaguing them.
“The meeting with the Centre will be held at 5pm tomorrow,” says Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher at Rajpura bypass in Punjab.
Visuals shared by news agencies showed scores of farmers queuing up at GT road towards the Shambhu border.
A farmer union in Punjab, BKU Ekta Ugrahan, also announced to sit on railway tracks from 12 noon to 4 pm as a mark of protest against how the protesting farmers were treated at the Shambhu border.
Tear gas and water cannons were put to use to disperse the farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders where they tried to push away the barricades put in place by the police.
On the other hand, authorities in Punjab have objected to the use of drones by Haryana to drop tear gas shells and asked the Haryana administration not to send their drones inside Punjab.
Reports claimed that 10 farmers sustained injuries on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Delhi borders bore a fortified look, with security personnel deployed in large numbers and barricades laid out across all possible entry points.
Meanwhile, the Ambala Police had said that one of their Deputy Superintendent of Police(DSP) and 10 jawans were injured during the arrangements made by the police to stop farmers from proceeding towards Delhi.
Several farmers were also detained by the police as they tried to cross and push away the barricades installed.
Haryana Police has said that section 144 has been invoked across 15 districts of the state in view of the farmers’ march to Delhi, while the Director general of Haryana Police has appealed to everyone to maintain law and order situation.
Meanwhile, internet services have been suspended till February 16 in select areas under some police stations of Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts of Punjab on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The temporary suspension of internet services came into effect from 6 pm on February 12 and will continue till 11.59 pm on February 16.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are leading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest march to voice their demands and put pressure on the Centre demanding for a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers.
Amid the ongoing protest, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda had said a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) on crops cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders and urged the protesting farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.
He also cautioned the protesting farmers to be “aware and alert” about some elements which could defame their protest for political benefits. The government has also made a ministerial delegation that held two rounds of discussion with the farmers’ groups, including Samyuka Kisan Morcha (non-political), Kisan Mazdoor Morcha in Chandigarh, to resolve their concerns.
In Delhi, traffic movement continued to remain affected across the city at many places as diversions have been put in place at multiple border points, while movement of vehicles has been completely restricted at the Singhu and Tikri borders.
Barricading and picketing has been stepped up in Delhi, especially in the New Delhi area.