Farmers resume march from Shambhu border towards Delhi, stopped after walking for few metres

CHANDIGARH: A group of 101 farmers resumed their foot march to Delhi shortly after 12 noon on Sunday from the Shambhu protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border to press the Centre for various demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP).

However, after walking for a few metres, they were stopped at the barricading by Haryana Police.

Haryana Police asked the farmers to show them the requisite permission to take out the foot march.

The Haryana Police had earlier asked the farmers not to proceed further and cited a prohibitory order clamped by the Ambala administration under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that bans unlawful assembly of five or more people in the district.

Protesting farmers had on Friday suspended their march to the national capital for the day after some of them suffered injuries due to tear gas shells fired by security personnel, who stopped them at the Punjab-Haryana border.

The farmers have been pressing for various demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP. They have also been pressing the Centre to initiate talks with them to address their issues.

Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Saturday had said that they had not received any message from the Centre for talks to address their issues.

The Haryana Police has written to its Punjab counterpart asking it to ensure media personnel are stopped at a "safe distance" from the protest site for their safety as well as to ensure ease in maintaining law and order.

As part of a call given by the farmer unions Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, a 'jatha' of 101 farmers began its march to Delhi on Friday from their protest site at the Shambhu border to press for their demands.

The group was stopped by multi-layered barricading erected by Haryana security personnel. Undeterred by prohibitory orders, the farmers attempted to force their way through the barricades but were stopped by security personnel who lobbed multiple tear gas shells to force them to go back to their protest site at Shambhu.

Farmers had earlier said that they had appealed to the government to either hold a dialogue with the protesting farmers or "allow us to move to Delhi".

However, the Haryana Police had said protesting farmers created ruckus and also made their best efforts to demolish police barricades set up at the Haryana side of the border.

Ambala police had said the farmers' outfits should march to Delhi after taking permission from the Delhi administration.

Shortly before the farmers' march, the Haryana government on Friday suspended mobile internet and bulk SMS service in 11 villages of the Ambala district till December 9.

The protesting farmers had earlier attempted to march towards Delhi on February 13 and February 21 but were stopped by security forces deployed at the border points.

Besides MSP, the farmers are also demanding a farm debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases (against farmers), and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of farmers who died during the previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands.