InQuest Protest Watch – Farmers’ Delhi Chalo March

As per the official  communication, the mobile internet and bulk SMS services will remain suspended in seven districts of Haryana from 06:00 hrs on February 11 till 2359 hrs on February 13. The  suspension of internet and SMS services is enforced in Jind, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Kaithal, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa. Section 144 has been imposed in these districts, and paramilitary forces are deployed alongside the police force. The Sonipat district administration has introduced the 10-litre cap for tractors and instructed the fuel pump owners not to fill the bottles or containers.

The Punjab and Haryana border has been sealed in many places, and the Haryana Police have planned route diversions. As per the media reports, a seven-tier security cordon is a part of the arrangements to block the February 13 march. The highways are sealed by installing cement barricades and drilling iron nails at specific border points. The Haryana police have issued an advisory and urged commuters to limit their travel owing to the anticipated traffic  disruptions on major  highways. The following border points are blocked, and the routes are diverted as per the traffic advisory:

• The Shambhu border is closed for vehicular movement by Haryana on NH-44. In order to block farmers’ access to the roadway using tractors, the Ghaggar river bed has also been excavated. The state borders are also sealed in the Jind and Fatehabad districts.
• The Khanauri border on NH-52 is also blocked.
• Adequate security measures have also been taken at Delhi’s Singhu and Tikri borders.
• The commuters traveling from Punjab to Delhi are advised to take a route via Rajpura-Patiala-Pehowa-Kurukshetra-Delhi or Rajpura-Patiala-Pehowa-152-D Highway-Rohtak-Delhi.
• The Sadopur border of Haryana with Punjab on Ambala-Chandigarh NH-152 is still operational but heavily guarded by Haryana Police. The commuters are likely to expect delays in movement.
• Per the advisory, commuters travelling from Chandigarh to Delhi are advised to take alternative routes via Derabassi, Barwala/Ramgarh, Saha, Shahbad, Kurukshetra, or through Panchkula, NH-344 Yamunanagar Indri/Pipli, and Karnal.
• Similarly, commuters travelling from Delhi to Chandigarh are advised to travel via Karnal, Indri/Pipli, Yamunanagar, Panchkula or Kurukshetra, Shahabad, Saha, Barwala, and Ramgarh.