Forces deployed, highways shut, flag marches done in Haryana

Thousands of paramilitary and police personnel in riot gear stood guard behind multiple layers of metal and jersey barriers, concertina wire, spikes, and sandbags as Haryana sought to seal its border with Punjab in a bid to halt the proposed “Dilli Chalo” march by certain farmer groups scheduled for Tuesday.
However, discussions between a central panel of Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Arjun Munda and protesting farmers ended in a deadlock late on Monday night, with spokespersons of farmers organisations confirming the march will resume at 10am on Tuesday.
Top officials posted at the Haryana chief minister’s office (CMO), police, and home department held back-to-back meetings in Chandigarh on Monday to fine tune the police response while handling any untoward situation.
The Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP coalition government said it is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that there is no repeat of the 2020 agitation, when farmer groups had marched in a similar manner through Haryana and blocked Delhi borders for almost a year.
By Monday, Haryana deployed thousands of paramilitary personnel along with state police to deal with what is being dubbed as “Dilli Chalo 2.0”.In view of the protests, prohibitory orders have been imposed in 16 of 22 the districts in the state even as Internet remained suspended in seven districts of North and North-West Haryana till Tuesday midnight.
District administrations in a few pockets have also ordered fuel pump owners not to fill more than 10 litre of diesel in tractors, and advising that fuel in is not sold in open drums.
Haryana police have warned the farmers that their passports will be cancelled and tractors would be impounded with registration cancelled, if they join the protest.
According to state officials, thousands of farmers from Punjab are planning to enter Haryana from different inter-state borders to further move to the national Capital on Tuesday.
Across Haryana in the areas that share border with Punjab and Delhi, the authorities have put in place multiple layers of metal and jersey barriers, concertina wires, spikes, tear gas shells, sandbags, drones, CCTV cameras, and other logistics to deal with any situation.
At least 15 farmer unions from Punjab-Haryana have given a call to march on February 13, to press for their demands, including a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP), waiver of farm loans, cancellation of pending criminal cases imposed after the 2020 agitation, etc.
Unlike 2020, when the farmers protested against three agricultural laws under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), no prominent organisations from Haryana are part of the agitation this time.
The farmer leader from Haryana, Gurnam Singh Charuni, head of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) — a prominent face of the 2020 agitation — is not part of the protest this time. Neither is Naresh Tikait-led Bhartiya Kisan Union that has followers in the sugarcane belt in western Uttar Pradesh.
The protests are being led under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (apolitical) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) including several breakaway factions of mainstream farmer bodies in Haryana and Punjab.
Over 50 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in Haryana and flag marches were carried out in the state. The forces also carried out drills on Haryana-Punjab border at Shambhu in Ambala and dropped few tear gas shells across the barriers.
The state government has also turned three stadiums into open jails to detain agitators if they enter the state and has also sealed key highways connecting the state capital with Amritsar, Chandigarh and other parts of the northern region.
Traffic advisories have also been issued by the Haryana Police, claiming to provide regular traffic updates on its social media handles. However, alternative routes, not capable of handling heavy movement of traffic, remain chocked prompting the authorities to issue warnings for general public to avoid taking the routes for the next few days.