Chandigarh, Dec 10 (IANS) Farmers, mainly from Punjab, would resume their ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest foot march on December 14 over non-fulfilment of long-pending demands and gave a call for mass gathering at the two interstate borders along Haryana on Friday to express solidarity over completing 10 months of the protest.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Tuesday told the media at the protest site that a group of 101 farmers would march towards Delhi on December 14 for agricultural demands in front of the Parliament.
He said on Wednesday they would pray in Sikh shrines to express solidarity with the protesters and for the success of the movement.
Protesting farmers suspended their foot march to Delhi on December 8, two days after their first attempt, after some of them suffered injuries in teargas shelling by security personnel deployed at Shambhu, the entry point of Haryana.
The farmers have been marching in support of their long-pending demands, including legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops, loan waiver and reforms to improve conditions in the agricultural sector.
The farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha after their march to Delhi was stopped by the security forces.
Meanwhile, the condition of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal started worsening on the 15th day of the fast. As per doctors attending on him, Dallewal’s weight is decreasing and his blood pressure is not stable.
“The Haryana government has turned this border like the India-Pakistan border, ” said a protester in one of the protest marches.
As a preventive measure to check any untoward incidents, the security at the interstate border located on the Ghaggar rivulet has been heightened.
Central paramilitary forces have also been deployed on the Haryana side of the border along with the state police.
Haryana Police had asked farmers who were heading to the national capital not to proceed further and cited a prohibitory order clamped under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
On both occasions, the security forces had to use teargas shells to disperse the protesting farmers when they attempted to cross the makeshift barricades, heavily guarded by paramilitary and police personnel, by climbing on them. It was set up temporarily on the border to prevent the protesting farmers from moving ahead.