Elaborate arrangements are being made to seal the Punjab-Haryana borders in Ambala, Jind, and Fatehabad districts ahead of farmers' proposed 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 13 to press the Centre to accept their various demands. The Haryana Police on Saturday issued a traffic advisory and urged commuters to limit travel on the main roads of the state to urgent situations on February 13, anticipating potential traffic disruptions on major routes from Haryana to Punjab, news agency PTI reported.
The Haryana government also ordered the suspension of mobile internet services and bulk SMS in seven districts -- Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad, and Sirsa -- ahead of farmers' proposed march to Delhi.
According to PTI, Haryana Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur along with Inspector General of Police (Ambala Range) Siwas Kaviraj and Ambala Superintendent of Police Jashandeep Singh Saturday visited the Shambhu border near Ambala to take stock of the arrangements in the wake of farmers' proposed march next week.
"The general public is appealed to travel to Punjab only in urgent circumstances," said officials, as quoted by PTI's report.
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Haryana: Traffic Advisory and Security Measures
In the traffic advisory, police asked commuters going from Chandigarh to Delhi to take alternative routes via Derabassi, Barwala/Ramgarh, Saha, Shahbad, Kurukshetra, or through Panchkula, NH-344 Yamunanagar Indri/Pipli, Karnal. Similarly, passengers travelling from Delhi to Chandigarh have been asked to reach their destination via Karnal, Indri/Pipli, Yamunanagar, Panchkula, or Kurukshetra, Shahbad, Saha, Barwala, Ramgarh, according to police.
The road on the Ghaggar flyover at the Shambhu border was shut for traffic movement with police placing cemented barricades on the road. The Ghaggar river bed was also dug up to prevent farmers from reaching the highway through tractors, said officials. Commuters travelling towards Ambala through Shambhu border faced inconvenience because of massive traffic snarls, the advisory said.
"Preparations have been made to temporarily change traffic routes in affected districts, especially Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Fatehabad, Sirsa," said police, as per the report.
Ambala Deputy Commissioner Shaleen said tight security arrangements have been made for February 13. "Instructions have been issued to set up checkpoints at places from where farmers are expected to come," said officials.
The police have already stocked up concrete blocks, barbed wire, sandbags, barricades and other items at the Shambhu border in Ambala to stop the protesters from marching towards the national capital. Similar arrangements are being made in Jind and Fatehabad districts.
"The farmers have planned to head to Delhi from the Ambala-Shambhu border, Khanauri-Jind and the Dabwali border," officials said, as quoted by the report.
Farmers Slam Haryana Govt's Move
Meanwhile, farmers are preparing themselves for marching towards Delhi as they slammed the Haryana government for sealing the borders with Punjab.
"We are getting ready to participate in the march. We are taking all essential items including dry ration, cylinders, stoves, utensils and mattresses for the march," said a farmer in Sangrur. Farmers are readying their tractor trolleys to participate in the march, said police.
"In Rajpura, farmers took out a tractor march as part of their preparations to head towards Delhi on February 13," the report added.
The 'Delhi Chalo' march, scheduled for February 13, comes amidst ongoing protests by farmers demanding various concessions from the government, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations.