Farmers suspend 'Dilli Chalo' march after injuries from tear gas

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).
Earlier,a group of 101 farmers on Sunday tried to resume their march to Delhi from the Shambhu protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border, demanding a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and addressing other issues.However, farm leaders claimed that around nine farmers were injured during the clashes, following which they suspended their march on Sunday. The farm leaders will hold an internal meeting to decide the further course of action. Their march was stopped by the Haryana Police just a few meters into their journey, resulting in clashes. The police responded by firing tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
The Ambala police had earlier said the farmers' outfits may march to Delhi only after getting permission from the national capital administration."The police are asking for identity cards, but they should give a guarantee that they will allow us to go to Delhi. They say that there is no permission to go to Delhi. Then why should we give identity cards? We will give them identity cards if they allow us to go to Delhi," a protesting farmer said. The police claimed that the farmers were moving as a mob and not as the planned group of 101 farmers. They stated that the farmers would be allowed to proceed only after identity verification.Apart from Shambhu, the Khanauri border between Punjab and Haryana has been sealed under tight four-layered security, with 13 contingents deployed.