Haryana removes barricades erected to stop protesting Punjab farmers

At the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, JCB and other machines have been deployed to remove the concrete blocks to clear the Shambhu-Ambala and Sangrur-Jind roads, which remained closed for over a year after the protesting farmers camped there

Chandigarh: Following the eviction of protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, Haryana security personnel on Thursday started removing cemented barricades, which were erected to prevent the Punjab farmers from heading to Delhi.

At the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, JCB and other machines have been deployed to remove the concrete blocks to clear the Shambhu-Ambala and Sangrur-Jind roads, which remained closed for over a year after the protesting farmers camped there.

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The Haryana security officials had fortified the State borders with Punjab with cement blocks, iron nails and barbed wire to scuttle any attempt by the farmers to move towards the capital as part of their ‘Delhi Chalo’ programme.

Punjab Police also resumed its operation to dismantle the remaining temporary structures on the Punjab side of the Shambhu and the Khanauri border points on Thursday to clear the roads.

Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police, Nanak Singh, said all the trolleys and semi-permanent structures will be removed from the road at the Shambhu border. “Hopefully, the road will be opened for traffic in the next 3-4 hours,” he said. The Haryana officials were also taking parallel action for opening the road, the SSP added.

Sibash Kabiraj, Inspector General of Police (Ambala Range), said the barricades on the Haryana side will be removed by Thursday evening and road traffic could be restored thereafter.

Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha on Thursday announced to hold dharnas outside the offices of deputy commissioners in protest against the Punjab Police crackdown. Both the bodies, which spearheaded the farmers’ stir at Shambhu and Khanauri border points, slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for evicting the protesters and detaining farmer leaders on Wednesday.

To condemn the police action, a group of farmers held a protest at Gidderbaha in Muktsar district, while another group that included women scuffled with policemen in Moga district when they were going to stage a protest outside the deputy commissioner’s office.

Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, in Mohali on Wednesday as they were returning after a meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh.