Haryana security personnel deployed tear gas and water cannons on Saturday to disperse protesting farmers at the Shambhu border, as they attempted to march towards Delhi. The clash occurred after a group of 101 farmers resumed their foot march from the Shambhu protest site, located on the Punjab-Haryana border, around noon. As they neared the barricades set up by Haryana security forces, they were stopped.
Several farmers were injured by the tear gas and were rushed to a nearby hospital in ambulances stationed at the protest site.
Earlier, Ambala Deputy Commissioner Parth Gupta and Ambala Superintendent of Police S.S. Bhoria engaged in a 30-minute discussion with the farmers, urging them to seek permission from Delhi authorities before proceeding. However, the farmers remained resolute, insisting on their right to continue their march towards Delhi and urging security forces to allow them to pass.
The farmers are demanding a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops, among other issues. This marked the third time in recent days that farmers attempted to march towards Delhi, with previous attempts on December 6 and December 8 also thwarted by Haryana security forces.
The protesting farmers, organized under the banners of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, are calling for a legal guarantee for MSP and a prompt initiation of talks with the Centre to address their demands.
In response to the protests, the Ambala district administration imposed a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which bans unlawful assemblies of five or more people. The police have made it clear that the farmer organizations, which are demanding a legal guarantee for MSP and other issues, can march to Delhi only with permission from the Delhi administration.
