Punjab: Farmers’ march halted again in Shambhu

Punjab: Agitating farmers on Sunday suspended their Delhi march after seven of them were injured in tear gas shelling at the Shambhu border near here even as security personnel foiled another attempt by protesters to enter Haryana from Punjab. Tension prevailed near the Ghaggar bridge in the afternoon when a “marjivra jatha” comprising 101 farmers tried to break through multi-layered barricades put up by Haryana Police and paramilitary personnel. Incidentally, it was the 300th day of the ongoing “Kisan Aandolan 2.0” (second edition of the farm agitation) that began on February 13. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said four of the seven farmers were seriously injured and one of them, Resham Singh, was referred to PGI, Chandigarh, while the rest were admitted to Rajpura Civil Hospital. Over 30 farmers have been injured in clashes with security personnel since December 6, when protesters made their previous attempt to enter Haryana. Farmers under the banners of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana for the past 10 months after their march towards Delhi was stopped by security forces. “We have called back the ‘jatha’ of 101 farmers. The next course of action will be decided on Monday after discussions between Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha,” Pandher said. The Haryana Police, for its part, claimed that the number of farmers who reached the security fence was almost three times more than 101. Haryana Police DSP Varinder Kumar said action was taken against the protesters when they “tried to pull down an iron mesh that was part of the last layer of barricades”. “We had to act when the farmers took the law into their own hands,” he said. Pandher, however, rejected the claims and accused the police of using excessive force, including rubber bullets and skin-irritating tear gas shells. The clash lasted for nearly three hours, forcing the retreat of the protesters, many of whom were wearing protective gear such as swimming goggles.

Despite the hostility, cordial moments were also witnessed at the protest site. The paramilitary personnel recited Gurbani, shared tea with the protesters and described themselves as “sons and brothers” of the farmers. They informed that they were only following official orders and had sought written permission from the farmers to hold the protest in Delhi.So far, 33 protesters have lost their lives at the Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites. On February 21, 22-year-old farmer Shubhkaran Singh was shot dead during a protest in Khanauri. The farmers are demanding a legal guarantee of minimum support price, farm loan waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in power tariff, withdrawal of police cases (against farmers) and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Restoring the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and providing compensation to the families of farmers who died during the previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands.