Tear gas shells lobbed, farmers stay put at Punjab-Haryana borders

Chandigarh: Haryana security personnel lobbed tear gas shells on farmers from Punjab at Shambhu border between the two states as thousands of protesters stayed put there on Wednesday, the second day of their 'Delhi Chalo' march.

The police action came whenever any group of the protesting farmers tried to move towards the barricades.

Some farmers also pelted stones at the security personnel who were positioned close to the barricades.

The police have deployed a drone to keep an eye on the protesting farmers who are demanding a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP).

A few youths even flew kites at the Singhu border in order to bring the drone down by entangling the unmanned aerial vehicle in the kite strings.

One of the youths, who was flying the kite, expressed anger over the use of drones to drop tear gas shells on the protesters.

The farmers stayed put at the Data Singhwala-Khanauri border in Haryana's Jind district on Wednesday.

The Haryana Police has sealed the border with barricades to stop the farmers from travelling to Delhi on their tractor-trolleys.

Farmers from several places in Punjab reached the Shambhu border to participate in the 'Delhi Chalo' march and a large number of tractor-trolleys could be seen parked along the national highway on the Punjab side.

The Haryana security personnel lobbed a few tear gas shells on Wednesday morning after some farmers gathered near the barricades at the Shambhu border. Thereafter, the tear gas shells were fired whenever the protesters attempted to move towards barricades.

On Tuesday, the first day of the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation, several protesters and policemen were injured in clashes at Shambhu and Data Singhwala-Khanauri borders.

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said they are ready for holding talks with the Centre over their demands, including a legal guarantee to MSP.

Citing some media reports, Dallewal said Union Minister Anurag Thakur, in his statement, has said the Centre is ready for holding talks and is also prepared to resolve the issues of farmers.

"We do not want to give any room to the Centre for saying that it was inviting us but we did not accept it," said Pandher while speaking to reporters at the Shambhu border.

While the protesting farmers said on Wednesday that they were determined to march towards the national capital, many young farmers have made their tractors ready for removing the multi-layered cemented blocks at the Shambhu border.

They have also arranged water tankers in order to minimise the impact of any tear gas shell lobbed by the Haryana security personnel.

The farmers were also carrying water bottles and wet clothes to limit the impact of the tear gas shells.

One of the protesters was seen wearing body protective gears along with eye protective safety goggles at the Shambhu border.

Many farmers said they sustained injuries, faced difficulties in breathing and had irritation in the eyes because of the tear gas shells which were lobbed by the Haryana security personnel on Tuesday.

A protesting farmer at the Shambhu border slammed the BJP-led Centre for writing off huge corporate debts but not giving what the farmers wanted.

The farmers just wanted the government to give a legal guarantee to MSP, he said.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher criticised the Centre for its police action against the protesting farmers, saying many farmers were injured.

"We urge the government to stop all this and ensure a positive atmosphere. We were ready for talks yesterday and we are ready for it even today," said Pandher.

Pandher said the government was neither accepting their demands nor was it letting them head towards Delhi to put forth their demands.

Asked whether the farmers have received any invitation for holding talks, Pandher said it was being said the Centre was inviting them for a dialogue.

"We will consider that invitation," said Pandher while speaking to reporters at the Shambhu border.

He said the objective of their agitation is to get their demands accepted. "We have not come for any confrontation with the government," he asserted.

The Punjab authorities have raised objections with their Haryana counterparts over the use of a drone for dropping tear gas shells inside the Punjab territory, said a senior official on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the farmers clashed with the Haryana Police personnel at two border points between the states, facing tear gas shells and water cannons as they tried to break the barricades blocking their protest march to the national capital.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation to put pressure on the Centre for their demands, including a law on MSP for crops and loan waivers.

During their protest on February 13 at the Shambhu border, the farmers, with the help of tractors, managed to remove some of the cemented barricades and iron nails which were part of the elaborate arrangements made by the Haryana authorities to prevent the protesters from heading to Delhi.

Twenty-four police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were injured as protesters hurled stones at them, officials said.

The Haryana government on Tuesday had extended the suspension of mobile internet services, bulk SMS and dongle services in seven districts - Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa till February 15.