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Haryana: 100 farmers detained in Ambala, prevented from marching to Chandigarh
Farmers blocked the Hisar-Chandigarh national highway number 152 near Ambala city when they were not allowed to march towards Chandigarh
More than 100 farmers were detained in Ambala as security was stepped up at the inter-state borders with Punjab and Chandigarh on Tuesday following a call by 16 farmer bodies to hold a protest in the Union Territory to seek compensation for losses caused by the recent floods.
Farmer activists, most of them from the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) faction, were detained and taken to police stations as a preventive measure.
Several farmers on speeding tractors were also chased by police vehicles on NH-44 (Delhi-Chandigarh) and NH-152 (Hisar-Chandigarh), nabbed and taken to police stations.
During such an attempt, Ravinder, a farmer from Sarsehri village was injured reportedly when the police tried to detain the “water cannon boy” and BKU SBS member Navdeep in Lohgarh village.
Navdeep claimed that while he managed to escape, his fellows tried to stop the police from following him and in the process, Ravinder received a major injury on leg. He is currently undergoing treatment in Mohali, he said.
Ambala Range inspector general of police (IGP) Sibash Kabiraj, who was given the additional charge of Panchkula commissioner of police, said that eight companies of Haryana Police were deployed at 20 checkpoints, including mobile ones to monitor the movement of vehicles and prevent any untoward incident.
Accompanied by DSPs at Shambhu toll barrier on the Haryana-Punjab border and Sadhopur barrier on the border with Chandigarh, the IG checked vehicles heading towards Chandigarh.
The exercise led to long queues of vehicles on the highways and commuters had to wait for hours during the humid weather conditions.
Later in the day, a group of farmers led by BKU SBS spokesperson Tejveer Singh blocked the NH-152 near Ambala City, when they were not allowed to march towards Chandigarh in the afternoon.
Superintendent of police JS Randhawa was at the spot, urging the protesters to clear the highway as commuters were inconvenienced.
However, senior SKM leader Suresh Koth and Jat leaders from South Haryana joined the protesters and they moved ahead on the highway for a few metres till another barricade stopped them at Ghel village.
Ambala DC Shaleen said they are demanding the release of their farmer leaders and a meeting with the state government.
“A meeting with the government has been arranged for Thursday 11 am and we are considering their other demands. Now, the decision is up to them,” he told the HT.
The DC has also imposed Section 144 in the district, prohibiting the assembly of more than five persons and carrying of tentage, food items, fuel, lathis, and knives in the tractor trailers. In a notification issued, the DC said that it has become necessary to prohibit the carrying of weapons during the farmer agitation as there are reasons to believe that anti-social elements may try to create “serious law-and-order situation”.
IG Kabiraj said that several of the elderly and small farmers are being released, barring at least 20 of the farmer leaders.
The farmers are demanding a package of ₹50,000 crore from the Centre for damage caused by floods in the region. They are also demanding ₹50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, ₹5 lakh for a damaged house and ₹10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in the floods.
