Even as the farmers’ fora gear up for their February 13 ``Delhi Chalo’’ march to press for their various demands, the Punjab and Haryana on Saturday swung into action taking measures to thwart them from reaching the national capital.
For the record, the farmers demand a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) and implementation of various recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.
Besides making arrangements to block the farmers’ (tractor) march at the state’s border in Haryana, the state police is also reported to have asked the farmers not to take part in the said stir without permission and warned them of stern action if they damaged public property, the state government has also suspended the internet services in seven districts.
The Home department ordered the suspension of the mobile internet services (2G/3G/4G/5G/CDMA/GPRS), bulk SMS (excluding banking and mobile recharge) and all dongle services etc. provided on mobile networks except the voice calls in the jurisdiction of districts Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa of Haryana State in view of the call for farmers march/agitation given by certain organizations as there was an apprehension of causing tension, annoyance, agitation, damage of public & private property and disturbance of public peace & tranquility in these districts.
The police of the two states, at the same time, have also begun installing cemented blocks at Shambhu barrier on the GT road on the Patiala-Ambala border, besides diverting the traffic on the said national highway on Saturday. Likewise, similar steps were also afoot on the national highways or state highways in the districts of Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Fatehabad and Sirsa which border Punjab.
Haryana Issues Traffic Advisory
An official statement of the Haryana police on Saturday issued a traffic advisory for the convenience and safety of the motorists and public urging that to limit travel on the national highways and other main roads of the state to urgent situations on February 13, anticipating potential traffic disruptions on major routes from Haryana to Punjab.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Mamta Singh, advised checking the current traffic situation by following Haryana Police's social media platforms: Twitter - @police_haryana, @DGPHaryana, and Facebook - Haryana Police.
"In the event of traffic disruptions on NH-44 Delhi-Chandigarh Highway, passengers traveling from Chandigarh to Delhi are advised to take alternative routes via Derabassi, Barwala/Ramgarh, Saha, Shahbad, Kurukshetra, or through Panchkula, NH-344 Yamunanagar Indri/Pipli, Karnal. Similarly, passengers traveling from Delhi to Chandigarh are encouraged to reach their destination via Karnal, Indri/Pipli, Yamunanagar, Panchkula, or Kurukshetra, Shahbad, Saha, Barwala, Ramgarh," the advisory read and added that in case of any discomfort, people were urged to contact dial-112.
The official release said that preparations had been made to temporarily change traffic routes in affected districts, especially Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Fatehabad, Sirsa. Citizens were informed in advance to plan their travel accordingly and avoid inconvenience.
50 Paramilitary Forces’ Cos Deployed
Meanwhile, according to official information, 50 companies of the paramilitary forces – RAF and CRPF - had already been deployed at different points in Haryana. The state had sought at least 65 companies.
It may be recalled that the home minister Anil Vij had already said that the state police had made adequate arrangements to ensure law and order situation at any cost.
