Farmers’ march stalled at Shambhu again

Agitating farmers suspended their Delhi march on Sunday after seven of them sustained injuries in tear gas shelling at the Shambhu border near here as security personnel thwarted yet another attempt by the protesters to enter Haryana from Punjab.

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Tension erupted near the Ghaggar bridge in the afternoon as the “Marjeevda Jatha”, comprising 101 farmers, tried to push through multi-layered barricades set up by the Haryana Police and paramilitary personnel. Incidentally, it was the 300th day of the ongoing “Kisan Andolan 2.0” (the second edition of the farm agitation) that began on February 13.

Greeted with petals, then tear gas

Despite the tension between farmers and security personnel, moments of camaraderie were observed at the protest site. Paramilitary personnel recited Gurbani, showered flower petals at farmers, offered tea and biscuits and referred to themselves as the “sons and brothers” of the farmers.

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Four of the seven farmers sustained serious injuries and one of them, Resham Singh, was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, while the rest were admitted to the Rajpura Civil Hospital, said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher.

Over 30 farmers have been injured in clashes with the security personnel since December 6 when the protesters had made their previous attempt to cross into Haryana. Farmers under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana for the past 10 months after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

“We called back the ‘jatha’ of 101 farmers. The next course of action will be decided on Monday following discussions between the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha,” said Pandher. The Haryana Police, for their part, claimed the number of farmers who reached the security fence was about three times higher than 101. Haryana Police DSP Varinder Kumar said action was taken against the protesters after they “tried to pull down an iron mesh, which was part of the final layer of barricades”. “We had to act after farmers took the law into their hands,” he said.

Pandher, however, dismissed the claims and accused the police of using excessive force, including rubber bullets and skin-irritating teargas shells. The clash lasted about three hours, forcing the protesters, several of whom wore protective gear like swimming goggles, to retreat.

Despite the hostilities, moments of camaraderie too were observed at the protest site. Paramilitary personnel recited Gurbani, shared tea with the protesters and referred to themselves as the “sons and brothers” of the farmers. They explained that they were only following official orders and sought written permission from the farmers to hold protests in Delhi.

So far, 33 protesters have lost their lives at the Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites. On February 21, 22-year-old farmer Shubhkaran Singh was shot dead during a protest at Khanauri.

The farmers have been demanding a legal guarantee of the minimum support price, a farm debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases (against farmers) and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of farmers who died during the previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands.