Farmers resume march from Shambhu border towards Delhi, stopped by Haryana security personnel

Chandigarh: A 'jatha' of 101 farmers resumed their foot march to Delhi shortly after 12 noon on Saturday from the Shambhu protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border to press the Centre for various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

However, after walking for a few metres, the protesting farmers were stopped by a multilayered barricading erected by the Haryana security personnel.

This is the third attempt by the farmers to march towards the national capital. They had earlier made two similar attempts -- December 6 and December 8 -- but were not allowed to proceed by security personnel in Haryana.

The farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) have been pressing for various demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP. They have also been pressing the Centre to initiate talks with them to address their issues.

The Ambala district administration has already clamped a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that bans the unlawful assembly of five or more people in the district.

The Ambala police had earlier said the farmer outfits, which are agitating for a legal guarantee for MSP and other demands, can march to Delhi only after getting permission from the national capital administration.

Earlier in the day, the Haryana government suspended mobile internet and bulk SMS services in 12 villages in Ambala till December 17.

The order to suspend mobile internet in Dangdehri, Lehgarh, Manakpur, Dadiyana, Bari Ghel, Choti Ghel, Lharsa, Kalu Majra, Devi Nagar (Hira Nagar, Naresh Vihar), Saddopur, Sultanpur and Kakru villages in Ambala was issued to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order.

Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's fast unto death at the Khanauri border point entered the 19th day on Saturday. Doctors have already recommended his hospitalisation, saying because of the prolonged fast, he has turned weak.

However, the protesting farmers have formed a security ring around Dallewal so that the state authorities could not remove him from the protest site.

The Punjab Police had forcibly removed Dallewal from the Khanauri border point on November 26, just hours before he was going to start his fast unto death.

On Friday, SKM leader Rakesh Tikait met Dallewal and also called for unity of farmers' groups for a "joint fight".

Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border between Punjab and Haryana since November 26 to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops.

Farmers under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and KMM have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

Besides a legal guarantee on MSP for crops, the farmers are demanding a debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "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 are also part of their demands.