Tear gas shells lobbed, farmers stay put

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.