Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers' protest: Singhu border on knife’s edge as farm fire rages

NEW DELHI: Singhu border saw tussles between protesting farmers and police personnel through Friday. In anticipation of caravans of farmers coming from Punjab, the Delhi-Haryana crossing had been fortified with concrete barriers, barbed wires and trucks laden with sand. Tensions were high in the morning when thousands of farmers gathered there, leading to a round of tear gassing at 9am. The situation flared up again after lunch. Police announced that the protestors had received permission to gather at the Burari Nirankari ground, but a section of farmers charged the barricades and a youngster tried to drive away the sand trucks. To deter stone pelters, police resorted to a cane charge and then lobbed tear gas shells. Read AlsoAfter day of clashes, farmers offered protest site at Delhi's BurariConcrete slabs, concertina wire, trucks filled with sand and edgy cops firing teargas rounds kept the agitating farmers stalled at Singhu border on the Delhi-Chandigarh highway till late Friday afternoon.Protest organisers appealed to farmers not to engage in mischief or abuse the cops. “Our differences are with the central government, not police. We are here for peaceful protests, not rowdyism,” exhorted one of the speakers. Baldev Singh, 54, of Kapurthala, complained that the farmers were being treated like terrorists. “Roads were dug up to impede our progress and bridges were barricaded. Don’t we have a stake in Bharat? Is Delhi not our capital too?” the Sikh farmer asked. Perhaps apprehending police action, the farmers were accompanied by doctors and ambulances. Gurwinder Singh Sarpanch of Munak Kalan village in Tanda, a Sarbat Da Bhala Society’s ambulance sewak, claimed, “Twelve protestors were injured at Singhu border in police shelling and lathi charge. Two people broke their arms and others suffered head and body injuries.” Read AlsoDelhi: Travel borders on madness amid protestsFrom office goers and families that needed to reach Indira Gandhi International Airport or New Delhi Railway Station, people crossing the borders of Delhi from and into NCR cities were hit by a triple whammy on Friday:Anil Kumar, 42, from Karad village in Haryana, expressed solidarity with his fellow farmers from Punjab. “We won’t become slaves to corporate houses,” Kumar said heatedly. “The Centre should include a guarantee on minimum support prices in the new laws. The mandis in Haryana and Punjab will be destroyed by these Acts.” Also expressing dismay, Dhanpat Singh, 65, of Panipat said, “If the government stops buying our crops, we won’t be able to feed their families. The private companies will force us to sell at low prices.” Pargan Singh from Nabha said states like Bihar had already ceded the mandis to private operators. “We don’t want to go the Bihar way,” he said. Baljinder Singh, 52, from Kapurthala rued, “Even the courts are not coming to our rescue.” After the farmers were given permission in the evening to congregate at the Burari Nirankari ground, police eased the restrictions. But many were wary of the proposal. Read AlsoAAP MLAs back farmers, Delhi govt ensures facilities in BurariAAP MLAs on Friday extended their support to the farmers who are protesting against the Centre new farm laws, while Delhi government made arrangements at Sant Nirankari Samagam ground in north Delhi’s Burari where the farmers have been allowed to protest.Shamsher Singh said that everyone knew that the protest sites were Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Maidan. “Why should we go to Burari?” he asked defiantly. Another farmer was apprehensive about collective detention with the ground at Burari turned into an open prison. Yogender Yadav, president of Swaraj Abhiyan, attempted to build consensus among different farmers’ organisations about shifting to Burari. “We wanted this face-off to end,” Yadav explained to TOI. However, irked by the police high-handedness, the majority of farmers decided to stay put at Singhu, and a langar was organised around 8pm.

The Times of India

2020-11-28

Delhi