Farmers Movement Archive

Well armed, Haryana police step up presence at borders with Delhi

CHANDIGARH: In the aftermath of the Delhi violence, Haryana police have fortified national capital’s borders and asked those running community kitchens and staging protests at toll plazas en route to Ambala to wind up. Heavily armed cops from Haryana and Delhi have been posted at the heavily barricaded Singhu-Kundli border in Sonipat and Tikri border on Bahadurgarh side. In a fallout of the Delhi incident, an altercation occurred between farmers and other residents of Karnal villages near the Bastara toll plaza. The villagers allegedly pelted the farmers with stones near Gharaunda, but fled before police could reach there. It was after this that the cops as well as the local administration told managements of community kitchens running from Bastara toll plaza to wind up. Karnal SP Ganga Ram Punia said, "We asked them to do so as it is causing traffic chaos and to prevent any kind of confrontation with villagers which could lead to law and order issues. One such incident was reported on Wednesday.’’ Four community kitchen are being run in Karnal, including one by dozen villages who had aided farmers from Punjab on way to Delhi by breaking the barricade in Karnal. The other kitchens were jointly run by residents of other villages. In another related development, a group from Rewari district also organized a protest march and meeting over farmers from other states camping on Shahjahanpur-Kheri borders for the past month and a half. They sought removal of the dharna, saying it was in violation of law and breach of social security and other rules related to Covid-19 protocols. "Nobody is following any kind of rule here. Due to the siege on the road, heavy vehicles are plying on internal village roads due to which women and children cannot go out and the roads have got damaged. Since all of them have come from other states, let them protest in their home states,’’ said Suman Kumar, sarpanch of Rasgan village of Rewari. It is learnt that the police on Wednesday has asked those protesting on Shahjahanpur-Kheri national highway not to block the road and to sit on one side.

The Times of India

2021-01-28

Chandigarh