Farmers’ Protest: Mobile Internet Suspended In Parts Of Haryana's Ambala
New Delhi: Ahead of the farmers’ march, mobile internet services and sending bulk messages have been suspended till December 9 in parts of Ambala district in Haryana. Several farmers were detained at Greater Noida’s Pari Chowk.
Signed by the Additional Chief Secretary to the Home Department, the order cited “an apprehension of causing tension, annoyance, agitation, and damage to public and private property.”
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Affected regions include Dangdehri, Bari Ghel, Devi Nagar, Lohgarh, Saddopur, Manakpur, Kalu Majra, Dadiyana, Lharsa, Sultanpur, and Kakru villages.
There is “a clear potential… of misuse of internet services by way of spread of inflammatory material and false rumours, which are being/could be transmitted/circulated to the public…” stated officials.
Orders have been issued banning gatherings of five or more people under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). District officials have also ordered both government-run and private schools to be closed for the day.
Security has been tightened on the Ambala-Delhi border with multilayered barricades in place on National Highway 44. Water cannons have also been deployed.
More than 100 farmers began to march from the Shambhu border to demand a legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSP). A traffic snarl is also expected in parts of the national capital due to the security arrangements at the border.
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Signalling their decision to continue their strike, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher suggested a prolonged agitation. He said the march has entered its 297th day, and the indefinite hunger strike at the Khanauri border has reached its 11th day, adding that a group of 101 farmers would move towards Delhi from the Shambu border.
The farmers protest seeks employment and rehabilitation benefits for children of landless farmers. They also demand government orders based on recommendations from the High Power Committee and the proper settlement of populated areas affected by land acquisition.
