Police fire tear gas at farmers gathered at Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border to resume ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest

Police used tear gas shells to disperse farmers attempting to breach the police barricade at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border during the ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest. Delhi police have enforced Section 144 to maintain law and order, restricting entry of tractor trolleys and large gatherings. This has caused significant traffic jams at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border. Security has been heightened at the Singhu Border in Delhi with the deployment of Rapid Action Force personnel, Police personnel, and Riot Control Vehicles, following clashes between farmers and police at the Shambhu border in Ambala, Haryana.

The protesting farmers, led by farmer union leaders Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, are demanding 12 key reforms from the central government. These include a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, complete debt waiver, pension schemes for farmers and farm laborers, and scrapping of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020. They are also demanding the reintroduction of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, punishment for those involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri killings, and 200 days of employment per year with a daily wage of Rs 700 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA), linked to farming. Additionally, they seek compensation for the families of farmers who died during the 2021 protests, along with job guarantees for their family members.