Rewari, December 31
A group of protesting farmers camping at the Delhi-Jaipur highway for the past 18 days today removed the two-layer barricading at Shahjahanpur (Rajasthan)-Khera (Rewari) border to move to the Capital. The police initially used tear gas shells to stop them but later allowed them to go.
Tension prevailed as the farmers were thereafter stopped by the Rewari police near Bhudla village, 12 km from the border. Hundreds of farmers however stayed back on the Rajasthan side of the Shahjahanpur-Rewari border. The police had to divert traffic on the highway to avoid a jam following the sudden movement of farmers. There were long queues of vehicles on the highway as well as alternative routes, causing inconvenience to the commuters.
Farmers remove boulders from tractor at Shahjahanpur-Khera border. Tribune Photo
The police had to divert the traffic on the highway to avoid road jam following the sudden movement of the farmers. Long queues of vehicles not only on the highway but also on alternative routes were witnessed causing a great inconvenience to the commuters.
“It was around 2 pm when a group of more than 100 farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in over a dozen tractor-trailers suddenly started removing boulders and barricadings placed on the highway. The police lobbed tear gas shells but the farmers did not stop and broke the barricades from their tractors,” said Ashok Arya, a leader of All India Kisan Sabha, adding that two farmers also suffered injuries while breaking the barricades.