Farmers, who have been camping at the Shambhu border, the Punjab-Haryana border, for the past eight months, will resume their protest march to Parliament in Delhi on Friday to press their demands over a host of issues, including a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP).
In view of the protest, which will begin at 1 pm, security has been tightened and police said they have enough forces to deal with the farmers, adding that they have not deployed any additional forces for now. Heavy barricading has been done and the Ambala district administration has banned gatherings of five or more people.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said farmers would march on foot instead of taking tractors. Around 100 farmers are expected to begin the march from the Shambhu border.
“We have been sitting here for the past eight months. In response to accusations that our tractors are modified, we have decided to march to Delhi on foot,” Pandher said. He added that the farmers’ movement has received support from khap panchayats and members of the business community.
Farmers are mainly seeking a legal guarantee for MSP for crops and had earlier attempted to march towards Delhi on February 13 and February 21. However, they were stopped by security forces at Shambhu and Khanauri on Punjab-Haryana borders. Farmers, under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since then.
The march comes after months of stalled communication with the central government. “In February, we held four rounds of talks, but since February 18, there have been no further discussions,” Pandher said while calling for renewed discussions to address the farmers’ concerns.
Residents of Delhi-NCR may face traffic jams as security has been tightened at the borders and barricades installed at key routes. Earlier this week, a similar protest by farmers from Uttar Pradesh inconvenienced thousands of people commuting to work in their vehicles.
WHAT ARE THE FARMERS DEMANDING
Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the farmers are demanding a debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, and no hike in electricity tariff. They are also demanding “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.
On Monday, Pandher said a delegation of farmers had met Ambala’s Superintendent of Police (SP) and informed the police about their protest march towards Delhi on December 6.
Stressing that the protest would be peaceful, Pandher said, “The district administration has accused us of carrying weapons, but we will march peacefully.”
SECURITY MEASURES IN PLACE
Ahead of the protest, Ambala’s SP and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had visited the Shambhu border on Thursday evening. Security measures, including the deployment of paramilitary forces, drones and water cannons, have been put in place.
After overseeing the arrangements at the border, Ambala SP Surendra Bhoria said all security measures were in place and no one would be allowed to take the law into their hands. “If the farmers want to go to Delhi, they should first get permission from Delhi Police,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Ambala district administration in Haryana asked Punjab farmers to reconsider their proposed march to Delhi and told them to contemplate further action only after getting permission from the Delhi Police.
The Delhi Police, however, said that they did not receive any request from Punjab farmers to march to Delhi.
The Ambala administration has also imposed Section 163 of BNSS, restricting the assembly of five or more persons in the district and issued notices at the protest site near the Shambhu border.
Farmers have urged the government to allow the march to proceed without interference. “We want the government to let us exercise our democratic right to protest,” Pandher said.
All government and private schools have been shut in Ambala today in view of the farmers’ march.
Article source: indiatoday.in
