Farmers renew protest at Haryana border despite opposition from locals

Farmers protesting at Shahjahanpur near Jaisinghpur Khera at the Haryana-Rajasthan border said that the number of protesting farmers at the site was swelling amid support from villages in Bawal and other parts of Rajasthan and Haryana

Farmers protesting at Shahjahanpur near Jaisinghpur Khera at the Haryana-Rajasthan border said that the number of protesting farmers at the site was swelling amid support from villages in Bawal and other parts of Rajasthan and Haryana. Farmers from Bawal, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Hanumangarh and Ganganagar renewed their agitation on Sunday even though some locals from Haryana raised concerns against the blocking of the route.

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Sinu Jaisinghpuria, a resident of Jaisinghpur Khera, said that petrol pump owners along with villages had approached the protesting farmers to share their grievances. “People are incurring losses due to the blockade. Due to the increased movement of vehicles passing through the village, there have been accidents too. People share the concerns of the farmers but there was no headway,” said Jaisinghpuria..

Naveen Sohlot, a farmer from Bawal, said that around 50 people had reached the protest site for discussions. “Some petrol pump owners came here in the morning. They said that they were not against farmers but were facing financial losses due to the protest. We told them that the Haryana government had barricaded the routes,” said Sohlot.

In a video shared on Twitter, Yogendra Yadav, head of Swaraj India, said that attempts were being made to create a disturbance at the protest site as had been the case at other places on the Delhi-Haryana border. “There are many petrol pumps on this stretch in Haryana. The owners of these petrol pumps are facing issues. Their workers are being portrayed as locals,” said Yadav. He said that the protesting farmers were ready to engage with people who had genuine concerns. “If locals have issues, they can reach out to us. Others shouldn’t play games under the garb of nationalism,” said Yadav.

He said that the situation had changed for the better with the government on the back foot now. Yadav said the protest at Shahjahanpur was swelling with farmers from Rajasthan, Haryana, and Bawal. “People from Haryana are strengthening the protest here as well as in other protest sites in Delhi now. People from Bawal also arrived here and joined the agitation,” said Yadav.