Chandigarh: The Haryana Police on Tuesday hurled multiple rounds of tear gas shells, some of them dropped by drones, at the Shambhu border near Ambala to disperse the protesting farmers as they tried to break past barricades set up by the police to stop them from marching towards Delhi.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed near the border as farmers deployed tractors to remove cemented blocks which had been placed as part of the barricading by the Haryana police on the Ghaggar river bridge to prevent them from marching forward.
The protesters hurled stones, at the Shambhu border near Ambala in Haryana. Tear gas was also used against protesters at the border between the two states in Haryana's Jind district.
The stand-off between the protesters and the police continued for hours as the area filled up with tear gas smoke. Some protesters were detained by the Haryana Police, sources said.
"Stones were pelted at Haryana police by protesters. To control the situation, tear gas shells were being used," said a Haryana police spokesperson.
"No one will be allowed to create disturbance. Those doing so will be dealt with strictly," the spokesperson said, asserting that "the situation is completely under control". With multiple rounds of tear gas shells being hurled by police, a blanket of tear gas smoke has enveloped in the air.
Whenever a shell was dropped, farmers tried to cover it with a jute bag to limit its impact. Farmer leaders were heard asking the protestors to use wet clothes to minimise the impact of the tear gas shells.
Initially, the police resorted to lobbing tear gas shells when a few youths broke an iron barricade and tried to throw it off the Ghaggar River bridge.
Despite an appeal by the Haryana police to the protestors to stay away from the barricades, many youths continued to stay put and stood over the barricades, officials said.
But after an hour when a sizeable number of farmers gathered near the barricades at the Shambhu border, the police again resorted to hurling tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
Protesting farmers slammed the Haryana government for hurling tear gas shells and said they were determined to march towards Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands.
Police barriers have been put up at several places in Haryana on the highway to Delhi. Riot control vehicles, including water cannons, are stationed at several places. Drones are also being used to keep an eye on the protesters.
At major entry points to the capital, the Delhi Police has installed layers of similar barriers that include barbed wire, concrete slabs and tyre-bursting strips on the road.
The “fortification” of Delhi's borders reminded many of the farmers' agitation for the repeal of the Centre's agri-marketing laws in 2021. The protesters had then blockaded the main roads leading into Delhi for months.
The Haryana government has imposed restrictions on the assembly of people under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in 15 districts.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the `Delhi Chalo' agitation to put pressure on the Centre for their demands, including a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers.
A large group of farmers, including women, packed in tractor-trolleys and other vehicles left at about 10 am from Punjab's Fatehgarh Sahib, about 40 km from the border with BJP-ruled Haryana.
On Monday, marathon talks in Chandigarh between farmer leaders and two Union ministers failed to arrive at an agreement following which the farmers commenced their march on Tuesday morning.
With PTI inputs