Protesting farmers cross Haryana border, threaten to start hunger strike

Hundreds of farmers camping on the Delhi-Jaipur highway at Jaisinghpur Khera — located near Shahjahanpur in Alwar district at the Rajasthan-Haryana border — since

Hundreds of farmers camping on the Delhi-Jaipur highway at Jaisinghpur Khera — located near Shahjahanpur in Alwar district at the Rajasthan-Haryana border — since December 12, pushed across the border and broke the police barriers on Thursday.

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Haryana Police allegedly lathi(cane)-charged the protestors, used mild force and released tear gas to stop them. However, more than 20 tractors and hundreds of farmers were able to cross the border and enter Bawal in Rewari.

Meanwhile, hundreds of commuters got stuck on the expressway from Dharuhera to Gurugram due to the standoff between the police and the protestors.

Shalini Baweja, entrepreneur and resident of Sector 15, said that it took her two hours to reach Kherki Daula toll plaza on Thursday evening after office. The entire stretch was congested and vehicles were forced to move at a slow speed.

KK Rao, commissioner of police, said that all the seniors officials have alerted their teams, and Bilaspur and Manesar police teams are on alert. Barricades have been put up and extra force has been deployed at all the border points connecting Haryana with other states,” he said.

On Thursday, over a thousand farmers from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana reached Jaisinghpur Khera and joined the agitation. The protesting farmers had earlier announced that they would start moving towards Delhi on Thursday, signalling their intent to further escalate the ongoing agitation. Despite heavy police presence and barricading, the farmers broke the barricades and crossed the Haryana border.

Satnarayan Nehra, president of Nehra Khap of Haryana, said that around 1pm around 20 tractors and hundreds of farmers crossed the Shahjahanpur Kheda border after breaking the barriers. “Rajasthan Police allowed us to cross but Haryana Police started to cane charge. Many farmers were injured in this ruckus. The community leaders have requested the police to let them cross the stretch peacefully and have tried to pacify the protestors. Now, we are currently stationed at Bawal and will proceed after two days,” he said.

Tej Bahadur Yadav, a former constable of the Border Security Force, who was earlier sacked from service and contested the election from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency last year, said that they have been waiting peacefully since December 12. “Now we have to take some action or else we will not be able to join our counter parts near the Delhi border. It has been more than two weeks we are stuck at one spot. We need to reach Delhi to show our strength,” he said.

He added, “The number of protesting farmers is still below our expectations. We are waiting for more farmers to join us so that we can block the highway till the new farm laws are repealed. We will go on hunger strike if police do not allow us to cross the border.”

Abhishek Jorwal, superintendent of police (Rewari), said that farmers have forcefully entered the district. “We managed to control the situation but few tractor-trolleys have crossed and have stationed near Bawal. The teams are deployed at the stretch and are managing the traffic so that commuters do not face any inconvenience,” he said.

Ram Murthy Joshi, SP, Bhiwadi , said that they are not stopping anyone from crossing the Rajasthan border. “There is no issue at our border. However, Haryana Police is not letting them enter into their territory. Our teams are deployed and keeping a close check on any unlawful activity and miscreants,” he said.

Farmers at Bawal are protesting on the service lanes where they have stationed their tractor-trolleys, cars and motorbikes. The traffic is being managed by the police personnel, said Haryana Police, adding that although untoward incident has been noted till now, they are closely monitoring the situation and will arrest anyone who will try to disrupt traffic.

Farmers from across the country have been protesting against the three new farm laws, which were passed by the Centre in September this year. They fear that the new laws will put them at the mercy of the corporations and put an end to the minimum support price (MSP) on important crops.