22 august 2024 : The farmer leaders have accused the Haryana Government of violating the directions of the Supreme Court and expressing reluctance to lift the barricades from the Shambhu border for partial opening of the NH-44.
A delegation of farmers led by Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal today met representatives of the Ambala and Patiala administrations to reach at a acceptable solution for partial opening of the road. The protesting farmers have been camping at the border since February 13, when their ‘Dilli chalo’ march was halted.
Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla and ADGP (Intelligence) RK Jaiswal chaired the meeting at the police lines this afternoon.
The meeting was held in the backdrop of Supreme Court’s direction to the DGPs of Punjab and Haryana along with the DCs and SSPs of Patiala and Ambala to hold a meeting for partial opening of the Shambhu border. However, the hour-long meeting remained inconclusive.
Interacting with the media after the meeting, Dallewal and Pandher maintained that they were open to all options. “We are open to discussion. We are open to the complete opening of the highway. From our end, there are no conditions.”
Farmer leader Gurmaneet Singh Mangat termed the meeting as mere eyewash and accused the Haryana Government for holding a meeting as a time buying strategy in the wake of the next Supreme Court hearing.
Sources said the farmers were in favour of opening the highway completely. However, a representative lfrom Haryana said the Motor Vehicles Act do not allow ferrying of tractors on the highway and asked farmers to go to Delhi in buses and trains for protest. This led to a brief argument between both sides.