BATHINDA: The Shambhu national highway on the Punjab and Haryana border reopened for traffic on Thursday evening over one year after farmers blocked it when prevented from marching ahead to Delhi for their protest seeking a legal guarantee for MSP.
A day after the Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites were cleared of farmers in surprise police action, both Punjab and Haryana used heavy machinery throughout the day to remove the cemented barricades put up to stall the farmers on the two different national highways leading to New Delhi from different places in Punjab.
Nearly 10 JCBs were pressed into service at the Ghaggar bridge at the Shambhu border to dismantle the multilayered concrete barricading. The goal was to start the traffic at least on one side, and the road was declared open for vehicles by the evening.
“The traffic has resumed normally on both Haryana and Punjab sides of the Delhi-Amritsar national highway via the Shambhu border. We are keeping a close eye on the border to oversee any law and order situation,” said Ambala superintendent of police (SP) Surinder Singh.
The opening of the highway came as big relief for the business community at Rajpura-Ambala hit hardest due to the blockade at Shambhu. They said that they would now be able to cover the small distance in a hassle-free manner. Likewise, motorists were relieved over the removal of the barricading.
At the same time, police started taking away various belongings, including tractors, of farmers to an open plot. Cops also asked farmers to take away their tractors by showing their identity cards on their own, assuring them they would not be harassed.
At the Khanauri-Data Singh Wala border , heavy machinery was set rolling on both sides of the road. On part of Haryana govt, police, along with the PWD and NHAI, started removing the barricades at the border from Wednesday midnight. Two Rapid Action Force (RAF) squads and three companies of Haryana Police were present. Narwana DSP Amit Bhatia said that all barricades erected by the Haryana Police were removed. “Now, both ways are cleared for vehicular activities. There is no hurdle from Haryana’s side to travel on this road,” he added. However, the stretch was yet to be open till late evening.
“At Khanauri, the number of vehicles and trailers parked on the highway was much higher and were being removed with the help of JCBs and by other means. The operation is in progress to clear the highway. It is expected that traffic may start moving soon,” said Sangrur deputy commissioner Sandeep Rishi. He added that none of the farmers was injured in the operation to vacate the highways.
Ahead of the call for “Delhi Chalo II” on Feb 13, 2024, the Haryana police blocked the national highways by erecting multilayered concrete barricading. The police stopped farmers by using teargas shells when farmers reached Shambhu and Khanauri. The farmers made another attempt to move forward on Feb 21, 2024, but again they were stopped using force, and young farmer Shubhkaran Singh was killed.
Later, three jathas of 101 farmers tried to move ahead but were stopped at the barricading at Shambhu, and this barricading came in handy for the police in containing protesters on the Punjab side.
500 detained in Patiala, Sangrur
Patiala and Sangrur police detained over 500 farmers and lodged them at different police stations and other places on Thursday. A committee of SKM in a meeting in Patiala condemned the repression against the farmers. The police also handed over tractor-trailers and their belongings to farmers after verifying their identities, including Aadhaar cards.
With inputs from Vijender Kumar, Jaskaran Singh and Bharat Khanna
