With Punjab farmers adamant on their “Delhi Chalo’’ tractor march to press various demands including MSP for their crops, the Haryana authorities have a tough task at hand given the skirmishes between police and farmers on day one of the agitation itself, writes Rajesh Moudgil
The Shambhu barrier on the Ambala-Patiala border turned out to be the epicentre of clashes between Haryana police and a multitudes of farmers from Punjab amid the rain of teargas shells on February 13 – the day one of their “Delhi Chalo’’ march to press for their various demands including minimum support price for their crops and loan waivers.
Not only Punjab-Haryana borders including Khanauri border which also saw skirmishes between farmers and police, tens of thousands of motorists and commuters of the national capital region (NCR), especially those bordering parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, underwent harrowing times due to the Delhi authorities’ tight security at its borders.
At Shambhu border, throngs of young farmers not only made repeated attempts to uproot the cement and iron barricades, but also succeeded in removing a couple of them, physically, and throwing them into the seasonal ghaggar river running below the bridge of the Shambhu border. They could also be seen hurling stones at the drones while these dropped teargas shells.
According to reports, dozens of people including a few journalists, police personnel and farmers were hurt in the action at the two borders.
This confrontation was imminent after the second round of the talks between the farmers unions and the Union ministers over the former’s demands had failed to yield any results.
Apart from Shambhu barrier which is on the GT road (national highway No 44), confrontation between the Punjab farmers and police was also witnessed at the Khanauri border which is on national highway No 52 joining Sangrur district (Punjab) and the Jind district of Haryana. Here, too, the farmers faced teargas shells after skirmishes with police following which the latter also resorted to cane-charge. There were also reports about tension mounting on the borders of two states at Kaithal, Sirsa and Jhajjar.
Even though there were meetings among the farmer leaders to decide the future course of action, groups of women had also flocked the Shambhu protest site. The number of farmers at the Khanauri border was also said to be swelling.
They ‘came prepared’ for long haul
