Tear gas: Farmers suspend protest at Haryana-Punjab border

Shambhu: After the Haryana security forces employed tear gas shells at them, the protesting farmers suspended their ‘Delhi Chalo’ foot march at the Punjab-Haryana border. The farmers suffered injuries due to the tear gas shells. The march was with various demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), PTI reported.

Earlier in the day, a 'jatha' of 101 farmers began to march towards the national capital from their protest site at the Shambhu border but was stopped a few metres away by multilayered barricading erected by Haryana security personnel.

As the group reached the barricades, security personnel lobbed multiple tear gas shells to disperse the protesting farmers and force them to retreat to their protest site.

Covering their eyes and mouths, several protesting farmers rushed to cover the tear gas shells with wet jute bags to counter the smoke. Many of them were seen uprooting iron nails and barbed wire installed on the road to deter their march.

Chanting 'Satnam Waheguru' and holding their union flags, several farmers of the 'jatha' crossed the initial layer of barricades easily but could not proceed further.

A few of them were seen pushing an iron mesh put up by security personnel down the bridge constructed over the Ghaggar River. One of the protesters climbed the roof of a tin shade where security forces had been stationed. He was forced to climb down.

Water cannon vehicles have also been deployed at the Shambhu border point.

The Haryana Police asked the farmers not to proceed further, citing a prohibitory order clamped by the Ambala district administration under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that prohibits the assembly of five or more people.

A farmer leader claimed that five to six farmers were injured due to the tear gas shelling. Sarwan Singh Pandher later announced the suspension of the march for the day and said the injured farmers were taken to a hospital.

"We have called back the 'jatha' for today in view of the injuries suffered by a few farmers," Pandher said here.

He added that the two forums of the farmer bodies, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, would decide the next course of action after a meeting.

Earlier, Pandher termed the 101 farmers who were part of the jatha "marjeevras" (someone willing to die for a cause) and slammed the Haryana government for not allowing them to march even on foot.

The farmers are marching towards Delhi to press the Centre for a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.