Kurukshetra: Battleground of Protests As Farmers Break Barricades
Amidst high security measures and the deployment of paramilitary polices, visuals of Punjab farmers forcibly removing cement barricades intended to obstruct their way in Kurukshetra, Haryana have gone viral on social media.
Police authorities resorted to use water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse protesting farmers at the Punjab-Haryana Shambu border. Punjab farmers then clashed with Haryana police at Jind border where they faced tear gas and water cannons.
As news of protests spread across the nation, Delhi Traffic Police placed traffic diversions in place for commercial vehicles around Delhi borders and curbs for private vehicles on Monday. Concrete slabs, iron nails, barricades and barbed wires have been installed in areas such as Ambala, Fatehabad, Jind, Kurukshetra and Sirsa to obstruct the incoming protestors from entering Punjab.
#WATCH | Haryana: Protesting farmers forcibly remove the cement barricade in Haryana”s Kurukshetra#FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/qifYSpsHpv
— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2024
Section 144 has been imposed in the Union Territory, prohibiting large gatherings and the entry of tractor trolleys. The police have also warned the farmers of serious legal consequences if they attempt to enter Delhi.
Farmers from more than 200 farmer unions belonging to Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are headed towards Delhi to press their demands, after previous talks with the central government turned inconclusive.
Union minister Arjun Munda reaffirmed the central government”s commitment to resolving the plight of farmers, emphasizing that communication between the government and the farmers are ongoing. The farmers demands include a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP), loan waivers and implementation of recommendations made by the Swaminathan Commission.
