The farmer unions on Sunday suspended the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march for the day after eight protesting farmers were injured in tear gas shelling by the Haryana Police. 

Sarwan Singh Pandher, the farmer leader from Punjab, said eight farmers were injured and one of them was rushed to Chandigarh’s 
Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).

“We have called back the ‘jatha’ (group of 101 farmers),” Pandher was quoted by PTI as saying.

He added that the farmers would decide their next course of action after a meeting of their forums — the Samyuka Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

The ‘jatha’ resumed its foot march from the farmers’ Shambhu protest site earlier in the afternoon but was soon halted by multilayered barricading erected by Haryana security personnel.

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Tear gas shelling, water cannons on protesters

Tear gas shells were lobbed at the protesting farmers and water jets were used as well to disperse them after they reached the barricades.

The Ambala police had earlier said the farmers’ outfits may march to Delhi only after getting permission from the national capital administration.

The group, dubbed as ‘marjeevras’ (someone willing to die for a cause), was marching for a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price before being stopped only a few metres away.

A farmer told PTI, “They are saying that our names were not on the list. We do not know which list they have. When we asked them whether they would allow us to move ahead after verifying our identities, they told us then we would have to show the permission.”

Farmer leader Tejveer Singh asked why farmers were stopped from moving ahead when they were peacefully going on foot. “What objection does Haryana have?”

On Friday too, farmers had to suspend their march after some of them suffered injuries due to tear gas shells.