Prepared for long haul, peasants pitch tents at Dabwali border

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 26

Barred from entering Haryana on their march to Delhi, farmers have installed permanent tents and started a protest at the Dabwali interstate border, near the Doomwali barrier in Bathinda.

Mansa protesters enter Haryana

• Mansa: A large number of farmers marched from the grain market at Boha in Mansa towards Delhi and entered Haryana by breaking police barricades at the Bahmanwala border
• Similarly, a large number of farmers entered Haryana by breaking the Hanspur barricade near Ahlupur, the last village in the Sardulgarh subdivision of Mansa district
• Around 500 farmers from Faridkot, Moga and Ferozepur districts broke the barricades at Hanspur in tractor-trailers, entered Haryana and started moving towards Delhi

BKU (Ugrahan) members to leave for Delhi

Bathinda: The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), in its state committee meeting, on Thursday decided to move towards Delhi from Dabwali and Khanauri on Friday. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) senior vice-president Jhanda Singh Jethuke said, “In the state committee meeting, a decision has been taken to move towards Delhi from both places at 11.30 pm on Friday”. The pressure was mounting on the union to take a decision on moving towards Delhi as in the evening as around 40-50 youth demanded that the union should move towards Delhi after breaking the barricades. tns

Thousands of farmers reached Dabwali with a large number of them on their way to Delhi. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) senior vice-president Jhanda Singh Jethuke condemned the Haryana Government for stopping them by sealing the border. He has also announced that they won’t allow any political party leader to speak from their stage.

He said, “We wanted to go to Delhi and stage indefinite protests but as we have been stopped here, we staged a protest here. The Haryana Government is responsible for blocking the Bathinda-Delhi national highway and also for the problems faced by the public due to this.”

The Haryana Police have made elaborate arrangements to stop farmers by putting multi-layered barricading and placing cement pillar stones on the main highway. Besides barricading, two big trucks have also been parked on the highway.

Dabwali DSP Kuldeep Singh Beniwal said, “Four companies of the police have been deployed at the interstate border at Dabwali, and as per state government instructions, borders are sealed so nobody is allowed to cross and enter the state. For this, elaborate security arrangements have been put in place.”

The protesters have also built a makeshift stage, which they are using to lash out at the Modi government over the three farm laws.

Even medical practitioner association members of various blocks have

also organised a medical camp at the protest site for the farmers.

Various gurdwaras in the region are providing langar to the farmers at the Dabwali border protest site. The farmer unions from Haryana also served langar and tea to the agitating Punjab farmers.