Facing inconvenience, villagers ask farmers to vacate highway at Shambhu barrier

Residents near Shambhu barrier request protesting farmer unions to clear highway for daily activities dependent on Ambala city, citing upcoming monsoon concerns.

Facing inconvenience, residents of villages near the Shambhu barrier have requested the farmer unions, who have been staging protests there, to vacate the national highway.

Farmers have been staging a sit-in at the Shambhu barrier since February 13 this year as they are not being allowed to move to Delhi for protest in support of their several demands, including minimum support price for crops.

Residents said they had to make a detour for their day-to-day works owing to the ongoing protest. In a memorandum to the protesting farmer unions, the residents stated they depend on Ambala city for their various day-to-day activities, such as schooling of their wards, medical treatment, household purchase and supply of agri produce. Therefore, connectivity with Ambala city is a lifeline for them.

As of now, the residents of nearby villages have to reach Ambala through unmetalled roads. At some points, villagers have to travel through makeshift bridges over the Ghaggar river for reaching Ambala. The residents appealed to the farmer unions to immediately clear the highway at Shambhu as the unmetalled roads will not be motorable during the monsoon that is likely to start in the next 10 days.

Farmers have been staging a sit-in at the Shambhu barrier on the Punjab and Haryana border since February 13 this year. The Haryana Police have erected cement blocks on the highway near the Shambhu barrier to stop the farmers from reaching Delhi.

When asked about the inconvenience, Sarwan Singh Pandher, convener, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), said farmers had never blocked the road. “It is the Haryana Police that has erected a cemented wall on the national highway. We requested the NDA government at the Centre and the Haryana government to clear the highway as Punjab has been facing huge financial losses. People are facing a lot of inconvenience due to the road closure,” Pandher said, adding that it was just a rumour that the protesting farmers would again block rail tracks as there was no such plan.