Delhi march: Farmers’ convoy leaves Sirsa, heads for Khanauri border

Anil Kakkar

Sirsa, July 16

Farmer groups have once again started preparations to march towards Delhi after the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a directive to the Haryana Government to open roads. On Tuesday morning, the farmers from Sirsa gathered at the protest site on the Haryana-Punjab border at Kilianwali village in Dabwali with their vehicles and tractor-trailers, intending to proceed towards the Khanauri border. Following this, they will head for Delhi.

Bharatiya Kisan Ekta leader Lakhwinder Singh Aulakh tried to persuade police officials to allow the farmers to proceed so that they could assemble at Punjab’s Khanauri border. However, from 11 am to 3 pm, the Haryana Police obstructed their path, refusing them to proceed towards the border.

During this standoff, an ambulance was also stuck in the traffic, but the police remained unmoved. However, due to the mounting pressure from the farmers, the police were compelled to clear the blockade around 3 pm, following which the farmers marched towards the border.

Aulakh said the farmers associated with different farmers’ associations had been protesting in Dabwali for the past 155 days with their tractor-trailers. On Wednesday, they will assemble in large numbers at the Khanauri and Shambhu borders. Then, they will head to the office of the Ambala SP, and once the state borders are reopened, they will march towards Delhi.

On February 13, farmer groups from different states, including Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, had proceeded towards Delhi. However, since the Haryana Government had barricaded the borders, prompting them to establish camps at Khanauri, Shambhu, Sangaria and Kilianwali (Dabwali) along the state’s borders.