A group of 101 farmers began a foot march to Delhi on Friday from their protest site at Shambhu border but were stopped just a few meters away by a multilayered barricade. Tear gas was being used by security personnel to disperse the farmers moving towards barricades during their foot march to Delhi.
Haryana police halted the farmers, citing a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The Ambala district administration has banned any unlawful assembly of five or more people in the area.
The farmers are marching to demand a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
A few farmers, carrying union flags, pushed down an iron mesh barricade on a bridge over the Ghaggar River. They were later stopped by security forces.
The Haryana government also suspended mobile internet and bulk SMS services in 11 villages in Ambala district until Dec. 9. Affected villages include Dangdehri, Lohgarh, Manakpur, and others.
The farmers, supported by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been protesting since February 13 at Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Punjab and Haryana. The protests were sparked by demands for a legal MSP guarantee.
The ‘jatha’ began its march at 1 PM, but after covering a short distance, they were blocked by a series of barricades erected by the Haryana government. The farmers managed to cross the initial barricade, but could not proceed further. Some pushed through the iron mesh, and others uprooted nails from the road.
Security personnel, positioned behind cemented barricades, told the farmers they could not proceed without permission. One protester climbed onto a tin roof where security forces were stationed but was ordered to get down. Water cannon vehicles were also deployed at the Shambhu border.
Earlier, Ambala district authorities closed both government and private schools in the area due to the protest.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher criticised the Haryana government, calling the 101 farmers part of a “jatha” of “marjeevras”—those willing to die for their cause. He also slammed the government’s decision to stop them from marching on foot.
Pandher had said on Thursday that stopping the march would be a “moral victory” for the farmers. “Their leaders at the Centre and in states have regularly said that if the farmers do not bring tractor-trolleys, there should be no objection. So if we go to Delhi on foot, there should be no reason to stop the farmers,” he said.
The farmers also observed Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur’s martyrdom day at the protest sites.
Meanwhile, SKM leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal continued his fast-unto-death at Khanauri.
The farmers’ demands also include a farm debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no increase in electricity tariffs, the withdrawal of police cases against farmers, and justice for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. They also want the reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation for families of farmers who died in the 2020-21 protests.