Delhi Police on alert, heavy security at border points ahead of Punjab farmers’ march

Farmers demanding MSP, debt waiver, pension, no hike in electricity tariff, justice for victims of 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has tightened security at borders ahead of the Punjab farmers’ Friday march to the national capital.

“Delhi Police is on alert and security has been tightened at the border points of the city. A skeletal deployment has been made at the Singhu border but it may increase as per the situation at the Shambu border on the Punjab-Haryana border,” a senior police officer said.

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Traffic is likely to be hit due to the security arrangements at the border and central part of Delhi, he said.

The officer said the police are also keeping an eye on developments on the Noida border, where another group of farmers from Uttar Pradesh observes a sit-in.

Farmers, mainly seeking a legal guarantee to minimum support price for crops, had earlier attempted to march into the national capital on February 13 and February 21, but they were stopped by security forces at Shambhu and Khanauri on Punjab-Haryana borders.

Farmers under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since then.

On Wednesday, the district administration of Ambala in Haryana asked Punjab farmers to reconsider their proposed march to Delhi and told them to contemplate further action only after getting permission from Delhi Police.

Delhi Police, however, said it has not received any request from Punjab farmers to march to Delhi.

The Ambala administration has imposed Section 163 of the BNSS restricting the assembly of five or more persons in the district and has issued notices at the protest site near the Shambhu border.

On Monday, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said a delegation of farmers met Ambala’s superintendent of police and informed him about their foot march to Delhi on December 6.

Pandher said the delegation had assured the police that the march would be peaceful and traffic along the route would not be blocked.

Besides the MSP, the farmers are demanding a debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, and no hike in electricity tariff.

They are also demanding “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.