Haryana farmers block highways
UP IN ARMS Condemn killing of MP farmers in police firing, demand implementation of Swaminathan commission recommendations
Commuters had a harrowing time as farmers unions blocked the Chandigarh Ambala-Delhi national highway (NH 1) for three hours on Friday to protest against the killing of agitating farmers in Madhya Pradesh. The protesting farmers also demanded the implementation of the Swaminathan commission recommendations.
Traffic at several areas, including Ambala, Kurukshetra, Hisar and Sirsa, remained disrupted for about three hours—between 12 o’ clock and 3pm—because of the blockades.
Though the local administrations and police had made diversions, commuters could be seen stuck in the traffic at different places. Heavy police bandobast had also been made at different places, besides deployment of about 10 companies of the central para-military forces at different points.
Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), led by state president Gurnam Singh Charuni, held a protest near Mohra village in Ambala and blocked traffic on NH 1 by parking their vehicles and tractors there.
BKU spokesperson Rakesh Bains told HT that roads, including three national highways, were blocked at seven places in the state for three hours as part of a nationwide call in Ambala, Hisar, Rohtak, Sirsa, Jind, Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri.
A group of Congress workers, led by Congress leader Nirmal Singh, also held a rally at Ambala Cantt grain market and later staged a dharna on the nearby NH 1.
Though a diversion for traffic had been made from Ambala Cantt flyover towards Jagadhari road up to Saha, the traffic was disrupted because of the road being narrow up to Shahbad from where traffic was allowed towards Kurukshetra on NH 1.
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) workers held a demon- stration and burnt an effigy of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan under the elevated flyover near mini secretariat, Panipat. INLD MP Dushyant Chautala from Hisar led the protest in Hisar and state INLD president Ashok Arora in Kurukshetra.
In Kurukshetra, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda led protest near mini secretariat.
In Charkhi Dadri, the BKU members blocked the Loharu road for about an hour.
In Sirsa, farmers gathered under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), near town park and shouted slogans against Central, Haryana and MP governments. BKU district president Prakash Mamera said they also burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, a group of farmers also blocked the national highway 9 near Odhan village in Sirsa.
In Rohtak, the farmer bodies on Friday blocked highways in Rohtak to join the countrywide protests of the farmers. The Bharat Kisan Union blocked RohtakPanipat highway near Ghilod and Rukhi village near Gohana for around two hours.
The police had to divert the traffic on NH-71 to contain the protest. There were reports of highway blockades on RohtakJind road near Titoli village for some time.
In Bhiwani, INLD workers took out protest march in the city to raise demands of the farmers. Similar protests happened in Sonepat and Jind as well.