Drive to Delhi|
\nProtesters vow to continue until demands met \u2019 traffic disrupted, mobile services suspended
\nAMBALA
\nIndian security forces fired tear gas at protesting farmers for a second day on Wednesday to stop tens of thousands from marching to the capital New Delhi to demand higher prices for their produce.
\nTravelling on trucks and trolleys loaded with food, bedding and other supplies, the farmers began their \u201cDelhi Chalo\u201d (Let\u2019s go to Delhi) march on Tuesday morning after talks with the government failed to yield a commitment on minimum prices for a range of crops.
\nAuthorities imposed tight security arrangements in areas bordering New Delhi, with hundreds of personnel in riot gear deployed amid cement blocks topped with barbed wire and shipping containers as barriers in the path of the convoy.
\nSecurity forces stopped the farmers at the Shambhu border that divides Punjab and Haryana\u2013the northern states to which most of the farmers belong\u2013almost 200 km (125 miles) from their destination.
\nProtesters threw stones and tried to break down barricades, Haryana Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur said.
\n\u201cPolice and paramilitary forces used minimum force (like) tear gas and water cannon and kept the situation under control,\u201d he said.
\nSecurity forces also used drones to drop tear gas canisters on farmers who, in response, released kites into the sky in the hope of entangling the machines.
\nMultiple farmers\u2019 unions said they would protest against the police action by blocking rail traffic at several places in Punjab for four hours on Thursday.
\n\u2018We won\u2019t be fooled\u2019
\nA similar year-long protest in 2021 by farmers, a powerful voting bloc, had pushed Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government to repeal some farm laws and promise to find ways to ensure support prices for all farm produce.
\nFarmers say the government has been slow on fulfilling the latter promise.
\n\u201cLast time they fooled us but this time we won\u2019t be fooled. We will not return until our demands are met,\u201d said 23-year-old Jasmeet Singh, a resident of Haryana\u2019s Ambala region who also participated in the protests in 2021.
\nThe latest protests come just months before a national election in which Modi will seek a third term.
\nLeaders of farmers\u2019 unions said the government should accept their demands or \u201cdemocratically\u201d allow them to go to Delhi.
\n\u201cBut they are not doing either,\u201d said Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee.
\nThe government has appealed to farmers to come forward to discuss their demands, with Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda saying that efforts will continue to speak to them \u201cin a constructive and positive manner\u201d.
\nHowever, an influential farmers\u2019 union linked with Modi\u2019s party on Wednesday rejected demands raised by the protesting farmers.
\nThe leader of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) or the Indian Farmers\u2019 Group, said the protests were masterminded by opposition political parties with the aim of fracturing Modi\u2019s agrarian reforms.
\n\u201cProtesting farmer groups do not represent concerns of all farmers, their views are limited to regional agrarian practices,\u201d said Mohini Mohan Mishra, general secretary of BKS.
\nTime for tea
\nA rare moment of respite in the protest came in the afternoon when farmers moved back to their vehicles for lunch, lining up to be served. In some places, farmers and police stood side-by-side, warming themselves with cups of tea against a backdrop of rows of barricades.
\nTraffic was disrupted across Delhi\u2019s border regions. On Grand Trunk Road, which connects Delhi to Punjab via Haryana, vehicles were redirected for the last 20 km (12 miles) through side roads.
\nThe opposite carriageway, carrying commuters to Delhi, remained deserted, with traffic movement prohibited along its entire 150 km Haryana stretch.
\nHaryana has also suspended mobile internet services, bulk messaging, and dongle services in several parts until Thursday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Drive to Delhi| Protesters vow to continue until demands met \u2019 traffic disrupted, mobile services suspended AMBALA Indian security forces fired tear gas at protesting farmers for a second day on Wednesday to stop tens of thousands from marching to the capital New Delhi to demand higher prices for their produce. Travelling on trucks and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-387211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n