Farmers call off march for today after several injured from police tear gas, water cannon

After a clash with the Haryana police forces at the Haryana-Punjab Shambhu border, protestors called off the march to Delhi for the day noting multiple farmers had been injured by teargas shells and water cannon.

""We have called off 'Jattha' and not the march (to Delhi). Six farmers have been injured," Sarwan Singh Pandher told ANI after a meeting was held to assess the situation.


The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha is yet to decide the next course of action in a following meeting, the leader further said.

A 'jatha' of 101 farmers on Friday began its foot march to Delhi from their protest site at the Shambhu border but was stopped a few metres away by multilayered barricading erected by Haryana security personnel.

The farmers, who have announced plans to march towards the national capital were met with multiple rounds of tear gas shells as they attempted to remove barricades and barbed wires set up by the police to prevent their movement.

Water cannon vehicles were also deployed at the Shambhu border in case the situation escalated further and some protestors suffered injuries and were hospitalised in ambulances, the protestors told PTI.

Citing a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Haryana Police warned protestors not to proceed further as a 'jatha' of 101 farmers began its march towards Delhi from the Shambhu border.

The farmers, demanding a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops, were stopped by a multi-layered blockade set up by Haryana police.

The farmers, gathered under the banners of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders since February 13, 2024, after their earlier attempts to march to Delhi were blocked by security forces.

They are calling for legal assurances on MSP, as well as other demands, including farm debt waivers and justice for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.