Farmers protest live update: Unions to resume march on Dec 8 if Centre fails to engage in talks

Farmers protest live update: Residents of Delhi-NCR could experience traffic jams as security measures have been heightened at the borders, with barricades placed along key routes.

Earlier this week, a protest by farmers from Uttar Pradesh caused major disruptions, affecting thousands of commuters traveling to work.

Farmers protest live update: The Ambala district administration has \ issued an order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), restricting any unlawful assembly of five or more persons in the district.

Farmers who have gathered in crowds at the Shambhu border may face issues.

Farmers protest live update: The Dilli Chalo march today will be the third attempt by the protesting farmer unions to march to the national capital in the past 10 months.

The first two attempts were made on February 13 and 21 resulting in clashes between police and farmers.

Farmers protest live update: Sibash Kabiraj, IGP, Ambala Range, said that commuters need not panic as all inter-state borders between Punjab and Haryana are open for traffic movement except the Shambhu border.

Farmers protest live update: On Friday, the Congress party reiterated its support for farmers' demands, emphasizing that their protests have gained significant momentum, thanks to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. This statement came ahead of a planned march by farmers from the Shambhu border to Delhi.

The remarks followed comments made by Dhankhar during a ceremony marking the centenary of ICAR-CIRCOT in Mumbai, where he questioned the unfulfilled promises made to farmers and sought accountability from the Agriculture Minister.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh highlighted that farmers are marching to Parliament on Friday, adding that their protests were "boosted" by Dhankhar’s statements, which he noted in a post on X.

Farmers protest live update: As a precautionary measure, Ambala DC Parth Gupta issued late-night orders to close all government and private schools for the day.

Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, restricting gatherings of five or more people, remain in effect in Ambala until further notice.

Farmers protest live update: On Thursday, a day before the farmers' march to Delhi, Punjab Police held a meeting with farmer leaders at the Shambhu border.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu and Senior Superintendent of Police Nanak Singh met with farmer leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher and Surjit Singh Phul.

Additionally, notices were sent to the homes of two farmer leaders, including Pandher, in Punjab.

Farmers protest live update: Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher has stated that there are no plans yet for a march to Delhi from the Khanauri border.

For now, groups of farmers will proceed on foot only along the Shambhu border.

Pandher also questioned the deployment of police in Khanauri when mo march was planned from there.

Farmers protest live update: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha has alleged that the Uttar Pradesh police is trespassing on the houses of farmer leaders and detaining them on the pretext of 'house arrest' without relevance to any clauses in the CrPC or the BNSS.

They said SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk , who had also faced critical injuries in Lakhimpur Kheri in 2020-21, was detained at the Katghar police station for more than three hours to prevent him from attending the Kisan Mahapanchayat at the Yamuna Expressway on December 4.

Farmers protest live update: Leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) have demanded an apology from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath for allegedly calling the farmers' struggle “anarchy”.

"The SKM demands apology from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for calling farmers struggle anarchy. Right to Protest is a constitutional right of all citizens of India and the Indian Constitution was established through the great struggle of the people in two phases of struggles for Independence marked by 1857 and 1947 against the British Colonialism and feudalism," the SKM said in a statement.

"Humiliating the protest of farmers for their rights as anarchy is unexpected from a person holding the constitutional position of the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh," said the farmers' body.

Farmers protest live update: Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Thursday accused the government of treating the farmers like enemies of the state.

“This does not look like a Punjab-Haryana border, but an international territory. If they (authorities) have their way, they will not even allow a bird to cross the border. They are treating us like we are enemies from some other country, whereas we are citizens of this land who want to peacefully march to the national capital to press our demands,” he said.

He added that if the Haryana government uses force to stop the protest, "it will only expose the government".

"If they have deployed Central forces, drones or are testing water cannons, it shows their intent is to stop us," he added.

Farmers protest live update: Sarwan Singh Pandher, a leader in the farmers protests in Punjab stated that before their ‘Dilli Chalo’ march begins, Guru Teg Bahadur's martyrdom day will be observed by the community at both Shambhu and Khanauri border points.

“The jatha will be dedicated to the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji,” said Pandher.

(with inputs from agencies)

Farmers protest live update: The ‘marveeda jatha’ refers to the group of 101 farmers who will be marching to Delhi on a "collective mission.

Following the first march, other jathas on foot will follow to reach parliament and demand action on the issues highlighted by the farmers, as per farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher.

Farmers protest live update: Sarwan Singh Pandher, on Thursday, held a press conference stating that despite opposition, the ‘Dilli Chalo’ march would take place on Friday. He also said if the government tried to stop them it would the farmers "moral victory".

He said, “The jatha will march towards Delhi (on Friday). What the government will do is for them to decide. We will begin our march towards Delhi at 1 pm from the Shambhu border.”

"Their leaders at the Centre and in states have been regularly saying that if the farmers do not bring tractor-trolleys, there should be no objection. So if we go to Delhi on foot, there should be no reason to stop the farmers," he added.

Farmers protest live update: As farmers form Punjab gear up to begin their ‘Dilli Chalo’ andolan major concerns remain around whether they will be allowed to cross the border.

On Monday, around 5,000 farmers from UP began their ‘Dilli Chalo’ march as well in order to seek fair compensation for land acquired by the government since 1997. However, they were halted at the Noida-Delhi border.

Further, traffic issues also ensued at the Chilla border, where protesters had managed to breach initial barricades before being stopped near Dalit Prerna Sthal.

Farmers protest live update: For the past 10 days, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death to protest for the centre to listen to the demands of farmers.

At the Khanauri border, the leader is camped out with several other farmers since February.

Farmers protest live update: Farmers from Punjab who are marching to Delhi today have called for a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Their other demands are -

- a debt waiver

- pensions for farmers and farm labourers

- reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act

- no hikes in electricity tariffs

- "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence

- compensation to the families of the farmers who died in the farmers protests in 2020-21

Farmers protest live update: In a Supreme Court hearing, earlier this week, Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan stated that the protest of the farmers could continue but shouldn't cause an inconvenience to others.

“In a democratic setup, you can engage in peaceful protests but do not cause inconvenience to people. You all know that the Khanauri border is a lifeline for Punjab. We are not commenting on whether the protest is right or wrong,” they said.

Farmers protest live update: In the Ambala district of Haryana, section 163 of the BNS has been applied, preventing the unlawful assembly of more than fiv people.

Earlier the SP of Ambala stated that farmers would not be allowed to cross the border on trucks and tractors, which led to the procession being carried out on foot.

Despite prohibitory orders, farmers are all set to march ahead.

Farmers protest live update: Security arrangements have been tightened in anticipation of a march to parliament by farmers in Punjab.

Delhi police stayed that they have forces stationed at the Singhu border and are “ready to tackle any situation”.

Further additional forces have been deployed along the Shambhu and Khanauri borders as well.

Farmers protest live update: A ‘jatha’ (group) of 101 farmers will be leading a procession by foot from the Shambhu border in Haryana towards Delhi in order to advocate for their demands.

The farmers are likely to start their procession at 1 pm, although they will face strong resistance from security forces deployed across the Shambhu, Singhu and Khanauri borders.

Prohibitory orders have also been issued in Ambala, Haryana, preventing the unlawful assembly of four or more people.