Haryana-Punjab border sealed to stop farmers from attending mahapanchayat at Uchana

To prevent Punjab farmers from entering Haryana for attending a mahapanchayat at Uchana, the police sealed the inter-state border at Tatiana and Sangatpur checkpoints on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

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The police and paramilitary forces have been deployed to maintain law and order in the area.

Confirming the sealing of the border, Kaithal SP Rajesh Kalia said it was a precautionary step since no official permission had been granted to hold the mahapanchayat that farmers have called at Uchana in Jind district on Sunday. “No official permission has been given to hold the mahapanchayat. We have installed barricades and deployed paramilitary forces and the police. We are closely monitoring the movement of farmers,” the SP said.

Farmers have been protesting for over seven months at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Punjab and Haryana under the banners of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. The farm unions had called for the mahapanchayat on Sunday to press for their demands.

The sealing of the border led to traffic snarls, with commuters getting stranded on both sides of the checkpoints. However, the SP said arrangements had been made for diversion of the traffic to minimise inconvenience to public.