Security Forces Deploy Tear Gas on Farmers Gathering at Shambhu Border for ‘Dilli Chalo’ Protest Resumption
On Wednesday morning at the Shambhu border near Ambala, security personnel fired tear gas shells at farmers who had assembled there to resume their ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest, as claimed by the agitators.
The protesting farmers from Punjab are planning a fresh attempt to break through multiple layers of barricades at the Haryana border in order to march towards Delhi, pressing for various demands.
According to the protesters, Haryana security personnel launched tear gas shells around 8 am on Wednesday as some farmers gathered near the barricades at the Shambhu border.
On Tuesday, farmers clashed with Haryana Police at two border points between the states, facing tear gas and water cannons as they attempted to breach the barricades blocking their march to the national capital.
Following several hours of confrontation with the police on Tuesday, farmer leaders called off the protest for the day, announcing their intention to resume the march from Shambhu on Wednesday.
The ‘Samyukta Kisan Morcha’ (Non-Political) and the ‘Kisan Mazdoor Morcha’ are spearheading the ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation to pressure the Centre on their demands, including a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers.
During their protest on February 13 at the Shambhu border, farmers, aided by tractors, managed to remove some of the cemented barricades and iron nails set up by the Haryana authorities to block protesters from heading to Delhi.
Officials reported that twenty-four police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were injured as protesters hurled stones at them during the clash.
Police also used tear gas and water cannons against protesters at the border in the state’s Jind district. According to police reports, nine officers were injured in clashes at the Data Singhwala-Khanauri border.
Farmer leaders on Tuesday accused the Centre of orchestrating the “attack” on protesters marching towards Delhi and claimed that 60 of them were injured as police used tear gas shells at Punjab-Haryana border points.
On Tuesday, the Haryana government extended the suspension of mobile internet services, bulk SMS, and dongle services in seven districts – Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, and Sirsa – until February 15.
In response to the clashes at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, the Punjab government has issued an alert to hospitals near the border with Haryana due to numerous farmers sustaining injuries in clashes with the police.