Police Use Tear Gas on Protesting Farmers at Punjab-Haryana Border

Jalandhar: Chaos prevailed at the Punjab-Haryana Shambu border on Tuesday (February 13) afternoon, after the Haryana police fired tear gas at protesting farmers. The farmers are trying to reach the national capital for their ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest, and were breaking and removing barricades at the border when the police fired tear gas at them.

Reports of farmers being detained by the Haryana police were also doing the rounds in the chaos. However, there is no official confirmation either from the farmers’ unions or the Haryana police about this yet. Farmers on a long cavalcade of over 3,000 tractor trailers were seen running helter-skelter to save themselves at the Shambu border, on the Punjab side. The Haryana police has also deployed drones to keep a watch and record the farmers’ protest.

Farmers could be seen covering their faces with clothes and masks to save themselves from the tear gas. The farmers a waiting for union leaders to reach the Shambu border, after which they will cross over to Delhi.

In a video shared by farmers, many could be seen finding it hard to breathe. “We are finding it hard to breathe and have stopped for a while. For the time being, we have been asked by the farmer union leaders to stop till they give us the green signal to move ahead,” said a group of farmers in a video.

A young farmer, who was at the front near the Shambu border, said, “This is not the China or Pakistan border but look how the Modi government has barricaded the entire border. We are not asking for anything unjust. It is our legitimate right.”

The call for Delhi Chalo was given by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) led by Sarvan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, respectively, and other unions. Before leaving for Delhi, the farmers also held a press conference.

Meanwhile, as per a report in the BBC, the Delhi Police has laid multi-layered blocks at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders, which are the key intersections to reach Delhi on the road from Punjab and Haryana. The Delhi Police has also installed CCTV cameras at multiple locations at these three sites.

read more: thewire.in/…/police-use-tear-gas-on-protesting-fa…