Delhi Police gears up for Punjab farmers’ Delhi march

Farmers Protest: Ahead of the Punjab farmers’ proposed march to the national capital on December 6, the Delhi Police on Thursday said they are ready to deal with any situation at the Singhu border.

Police officials, however, said as of now there is no extra deployment of security personnel at the Singhu border.

“We have planned a significant deployment at the Singhu border on Delhi-Chandigarh highway ahead of farmers’ march towards the national capital. We are analysing the situation and if we get any intelligence input or information about the movement of farmers, the decision will be taken accordingly,” a senior police officer told PTI.

“As of now no extra deployment at the Singhu border has been made, but we are ready to tackle any situation,” the officer said.

Also read: Ageing fleet chaos: Over 370 DTC buses breakdown daily in Delhi, commuters and drivers bear the brunt

Presently, the Singhu border witnesses check posts by the local police to ensure the enforcement of GRAP-4 measures and law and order, another officer said.

Farmers mainly seeking a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) for crops had earlier attempted to march towards Delhi on February 13 and February 21, but they were stopped by security forces at Shambhu and Khanauri on Punjab-Haryana borders.

Farmers under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since then.

On Wednesday, the district administration of Ambala in Haryana asked Punjab farmers to reconsider their proposed march to Delhi and told them to contemplate further action only after getting permission from the Delhi Police.

The Delhi Police, however, said that they have not received any request from Punjab farmers to march to Delhi.

The Ambala administration has also imposed Section 163 of BNSS restricting assembly of five or more persons in the district and has issued notices at the protest site near Shambhu border.

On Monday, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said a delegation of farmers had met the Ambala’s superintendent of police and informed the police about their foot march towards Delhi on December 6.

Pandher said the delegation had assured the police that the march would be peaceful and traffic along the route would not be blocked.

Also read: DTC set to retire 2,624 CNG buses by Feb 26

Besides a legal guarantee to MSP, the farmers are demanding a debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, and no hike in electricity tariff. They are also demanding “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.