Farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march: Haryana plugs link roads, as Punjab farmers leave villages

PATIALA/BATHINDA: A day after sealing its Patiala-Ambala border on the GT Road with Punjab, Haryana govt on Sunday blocked state highways and link roads which connect the two states, including the Khanauri-Jind and Moonak-Tohana borders, by installing multi-layer concrete walls, and fencing these with barbed wires and police barricades.
Haryana govt also imposed Section 144 of CrPC, which prohibits assembly of five or more people, in 15 districts, banning any kind of demonstration or march in tractor-trolleys.
The steps have been taken to stop Punjab farmers from entering Haryana for their Dilli Chalo protest on Feb 13. This, however, did not stop farmers who started leaving from villages in Bathinda and Moga districts after holding prayers at gurdwaras on Sunday itself. The action invited criticism from politicians, including Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Congress's Priyanka Gandhi.
Law enforcement authorities of Haryana fortified roads on interstate borders and deployed heavy police force. Large tracts of land were also dug up to stop farmers from using other ways to cross over. The action has stranded a large number of trucks on either side of the state border. There are some link roads which are open to traffic, but these are not open to heavy vehicles. Several trucks have been lined up on either side of the Jind-Sangrur border near Dhabi Gujran village of Punjab.

Gurmeet Singh, SHO of Tharua police station in Patiala, confirmed that the main road towards Jind had been blocked. "Link roads are available through villages, but only cars and bikes are being allowed access to these," said the SHO. Moonak SHO Inderpal Singh confirmed that the Moonak-Tohana road had been closed by Haryana. "There were some link roads available earlier, but these have also been blocked by law enforcement agencies in Haryana," he said. BKU (Ekta Azad) leader Jaswinder Singh Longowal said, "The farmers are dedicated and will cross all the barricades no matter how hard or tall they may be. Things will be clear in the meeting between farmers groups and the central government dignitaries fixed for Monday but one thing is clear that no barriers can prevent farmers from moving towards Delhi for protest".In Bathinda, women activists of BKU (Sidhupur) honoured organisation's district president Baldev Singh Sandoha and general secretary Resham Singh Yatri when they left Jangirana village along with many activists in tractor trailers and cars.
They plan to go to Haryana via the Dabwali border, which was closed on Saturday. A number of activists left from villages in Moga and plan to go through the Shambhu border, which falls between Punjab's Patiala and Haryana's Ambala districts. Yatri told TOI that the teams which left on Sunday would try to force through the barricades. "They will reach Delhi or the borders of Delhi at any cost," he claimed. "This is about our survival."