Haryana police in Ambala spent the entire night preparing before shutting down the national highway at the Shambhu border in the early hours, cutting off this key route between Punjab and Delhi once again. Authorities have urged commuters to use alternative roads.
Farmers rally against the India-US trade deal
The march was called to protest the India-US trade deal, with farmers from across the country asked to assemble at Kisan Ghat in Delhi. The moment the call went out on Tuesday, Haryana police swung into action and detained several farmer leaders. Undeterred, a large convoy of farmers from Punjab set out from Fatehgarh Sahib at exactly 5 am, heading straight for Delhi, only to be halted the moment they reached the border.
Ghaggar bridge barricaded, movement grinds to a halt
To stop the farmers from advancing any further, Haryana police put up barricades on the Ghaggar bridge that links Punjab and Haryana, bringing all movement across it to a complete standstill. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher is personally leading the convoy towards the Shambhu border.
Pandher asks if Punjab is not part of the country
Pandher said the farmers are not looking for any confrontation and questioned why they are being stopped from travelling to Delhi at all. He said,
"Is Punjab not part of the country?"
Ambulances forced to turn back at the border
The tight security did not just affect protesters. Before reaching the Shambhu border, a vehicle carrying a dialysis patient had to turn back, and soon after, another ambulance was also forced to return by the same route. Punjab police did not inform these vehicles in advance that barricades had been set up ahead and that the road was completely closed, leaving patients to face avoidable hardship. The affected stretch is one of the main highway links between the two states, and with barricades in place indefinitely, commuters have been told to plan their journeys around alternative roads until further notice.
