Chandigarh: The Haryana police on Wednesday asked the owners of JCB and other earth moving machines brought by the farmers to their protest sites at Haryana borders, to withdraw the same else they would face action.
Farmers bring earth-movers, JCBs to break barricading
It may be recalled that a large number of farmers protesting at Shambhu and Khanauri points of Punjab-Haryana borders since February 13 stepped up their stir on since Tuesday after rejecting the BJP-led Centre’s offer to give minimum support price (MSP) on cotton, maize and pulses for five years.
They have also brought modified tractors, JCBs machines, diggers and other earth movers to break 7-layer barricading put by Haryana police.
Haryana DGP urges Punjab police to seize machines
The Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapoor police urged vide an urgent communication to his Punjab counterpart Gaurav Yadav to seize these machines from the inter-state borders as the protesters could use them to break barricades and were threats to the security forces deployed there.
Responding to the same, the Punjab police had asked all the district level officers to stop such machines from moving towards the protest sites at Haryana borders.
HC observes heavy machines not allowed on highways
It may also be recalled that a day earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji while hearing a plea challenging blockading Haryana borders, had also verbally observed that the tractors and trailers could not ply on the highways under the provisions of Motor Vehicle Act.
The Haryana government had also told the Bench that there were inputs that a large number of farmers in their modified tractors with other machines might try to break the barriers and to move towards Delhi. It also said in its affidavit submitted before the Bench that the Haryana administration had taken all the precautionary measures considering the previous experience and farmers had been stopped at barriers using legal means and methods.
Punjab says directions given to not allow heavy vehicles to ply
The Punjab government in its affidavit said that it had directed all the police officers not to allow movement of JCB machines or any other heavy machines towards Patiala or Sangrur districts. While Shambhu border is on Patiala-Ambala national highway (NH44), the Khanauri border is on Sangrur-Jind highway (NH 52).
