The Haryana Police on Tuesday hurled multiple rounds of tear gas shells, including through drones, at the Shambhu border near Ambala to disperse farmers marching towards Delhi to seek enactment of a law on minimum support price.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed near the border as farmers deployed tractors to remove cemented blocks which had been placed as part of the barricading by the Haryana police on the Ghaggar river bridge to prevent them from marching forward.
However, the Haryana police said tear gas shells were being used to control the situation as protestors were pelting stones at police personnel.
"Stones were pelted at Haryana police by protesters. To control the situation, tear gas shells were being used," said a Haryana police spokesperson.
"No one will be allowed to create disturbance. Those doing so will be dealt with strictly," the spokesperson said, asserting that "the situation is completely under control".
With multiple rounds of tear gas shells being hurled by police, a blanket of tear gas smoke has enveloped in the air. Whenever a shell was dropped, farmers tried to cover it with a jute bag to limit its impact.
Farmer leaders were heard asking the protestors to use wet clothes to minimise the impact of the tear gas shells.
Initially, the police resorted to lobbing tear gas shells when a few youths broke an iron barricade and tried to throw it off the Ghaggar river bridge. Despite an appeal by the Haryana police to the protestors to stay away from the barricades, many youths continued to stay put and stood over the barricades, officials said.
But after an hour when a sizeable number of farmers gathered near the barricades at the Shambhu border, the police again resorted to hurling tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. The tear gas shells were also lobbed after some of the protesters entered a nearby field.
The police also used drones to hurl tear gas shells, apart from using them to keep an eye on the crowd of protesters. Protesting farmers slammed the Haryana government for hurling tear gas shells and said they were determined to march towards Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands.
Farmers on Tuesday morning commenced their 'Delhi Chalo' march to press for their demands, after a meeting with two Union ministers over their demands, including legal guarantee to MSP for crops, remained inconclusive.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have announced that farmers will head to Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands, including the enactment of a law to guarantee a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. PTI