Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have announced a march toward Delhi to oppose the proposed trade deal between India and the United States, with large numbers of farmers setting out for the Kisan Ghat in Delhi. However, police stopped them from moving ahead at Ambala's Shambhu border and at the Singhu border connecting Sonipat and Delhi, and hundreds of farmers were also taken into custody.
Why farmers are protesting
Farmer organisations say the trade deal being proposed between India and the United States goes against their interests, which is why they had planned to gather at Kisan Ghat in Delhi to register their opposition. Early in the morning, farmers from Haryana and Punjab set off toward Delhi in convoys of tractors and vehicles. The march is the latest chapter in a farmers' movement that has been running for a long time, one in which the Shambhu and Singhu borders have repeatedly turned into flashpoints in the past.
Overnight barricading at Shambhu border
As soon as Ambala police got wind of the farmers' plan to march, they began putting up barricades at the Shambhu border overnight itself. This directly shut down the Delhi-Amritsar-Chandigarh highway. Farmers heading to Delhi from Punjab and Ambala were stopped with barricades at the Markanda near Shahabad in Kurukshetra, and none of them were allowed to move further.
Tight security at Singhu border too
At the Singhu border in Sonipat district, which connects Delhi and Haryana, Haryana police have also put up barricades and deployed a large police force. This tight security is being maintained specifically to prevent groups of farmers from entering Delhi's borders.
Commuters bearing the brunt
The heavy barricading at these borders is directly affecting the movement of ordinary people. Daily commuters are stuck in long jams for hours, with vehicles crawling along at a snail's pace. These same borders have seen water cannons, tear gas shells and internet shutdowns during earlier phases of the farmers' movement, which is why authorities appear to be on alert from the very start this time as well.
