Punjab farmers to march to Delhi today; traffic snarls likely as security heightened at borders

As the Punjab farmers embark on their ‘Dilli Chalo’ march from the Shambhu border today, prohibitory orders have been imposed in the Ambala district of Haryana preventing the assembly of large crowds,

Traffic may see slow movement as security at the Shambhu border on NH-44 has been significantly increased, with both Haryana and Punjab police deploying additional resources. Police also told that they will be monitoring the Singh border and are prepared to tackle any situation.

In Ambala, the district administration has imposed Section 163 of BNSS, restricting the assembly of five or more persons and issued notices around the Shambhu border.

Section 163 was also imposed in Jind, where farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been sitting on a fast-unto-death for the last 10 days.

Over 100 farmers are set to march towards Delhi on Friday to advocate for their demands. The farmers have called for a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, a debt waiver, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, and no hike in electricity tariff.

Additionally, they have asked for “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous protest in 2020-21.

The ‘jatha’ (group) led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) is expected to begin their march to parliament around 1 pm,

On Monday, around 5,000 farmers from various parts of Uttar Pradesh began their ‘Dilli Chalo’ march to Parliament, seeking fair compensation for land acquired by the government since 1997. However, they were halted at the Noida-Delhi border.

The protest disrupted traffic, causing significant inconvenience to commuters as police deployed heavy security and erected multiple barricades. A long traffic jam ensued at Noida’s Chilla border, where protesters managed to breach initial barricades before being stopped near Dalit Prerna Sthal, about a kilometre from the border.

The agitation, which started on November 25 with over 3,000 farmers from Gautam Buddh Nagar, Agra, Meerut, and Bulandshahr, entered its eighth day on Monday.

In a Supreme Court hearing, earlier this week, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan commented on the protest, saying, “In a democratic setup, you can engage in peaceful protests but do not cause inconvenience to people. You all know that the Khanauri border is a lifeline for Punjab. We are not commenting on whether the protest is right or wrong.

The farmers have been been camped at the Khanauri and Singhu borders since February 13, after their initial attempt to march to Delhi was halted.

On February 21 as well when farmers attempted to make the procession on foot to parliament, a farmer named Shubhkaran Singh died in a clash with security forces at the border. Teargas shells were also lobbed at the protestors.