Home to protesting farmers till Wednesday, Shambhu border wears deserted look after police crackdown

Shambhu: Till Wednesday, temporary structures and trolleys at the Shambhu border provided shelter to farmers who had been protesting on the key highway -- the ”Shambhu-Ambala road -- in support of their various demands for more than a year.

But following a crackdown by Punjab Police on Wednesday, the structures and sheds have now been razed and turned into rubble using JCB machines to resume traffic movement.

However, a few trolleys were still seen on the road with a police officer saying the farmers have been asked to take them back.

After farmer leaders, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, were detained in Mohali on Wednesday, Punjab Police evicted the protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points.

The crucial stretch of the highway in Shambhu wore a deserted look on Thursday, with utensils, LPG cylinders, tea kettles, freezers, washing machines, chairs, tables, beds and clothes lying scattered on the road.

At one of the structures that the protesters used as kitchen, vegetables, 'daal', milk and other essential items were left unused.

The temporary structures, including sheds and platforms that once served as shelters and meeting points for the protesting farmers, have been razed to the ground. Trolleys, which were turned into makeshift shelters, were seen lying on the road.

A police officer said the farmers can take their goods back.

Meanwhile, the JCB machines deployed by the Punjab Police resumed their operation on Thursday to dismantle the remaining temporary structures and remove them from the road so that traffic on the busy Shambhu-Ambala highway can be resumed.

On Wednesday, Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, in Mohali as they were returning after a meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh.

Farmer leaders have condemned the police action and lashed out at the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government for evicting them from the protest sites.

However, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema justified the eviction of farmers, saying industries and businesses have been hit hard due to the prolonged closure of the two highways, which he called "the lifelines of the state".

"Trade has been suffering. This action has been taken after considering all the situations. We have been telling the farmer leaders that your fight is with the Centre. We are with you. But you are causing heavy loss to Punjab by closing the border," the finance minister added.

The protesting farmers -- led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha -- had been camping at the Shambhu (Shambhu-Ambala) and Khanauri (Sangrur-Jind) border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year, when their march to Delhi was thwarted by security forces.

The farmers were protesting in support of their various demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP for crops.