Borders of Delhi, Haryana fortified ahead of planned march by farmer unions

New Delhi: Ahead of a proposed 'Delhi Chalo' march by farmer unions on Tuesday, authorities in Haryana and Delhi fortified borders with neighbouring states by putting up concrete blocks, road spike barriers and barbed wires to prevent the entry of vehicles and deploying thousands of police personnel, besides imposing prohibitory orders.

While the Centre has invited farmer unions for another meeting to discuss their demands on February 12, the move to block borders and stop protesters from entering the capital drew flak from opposition parties and farmer groups on Sunday.

Authorities, however, justified the imposition of restrictions "to maintain law and order" and cited the 2020-21 agitation against the now-repealed three f arm laws that had stretched to over a year.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha and farmer associations, mostly from UP, Haryana and Punjab, have called the protest march to press the Centre to accept their demands, including the enactment of a law to guarantee a minimum support price. (PTI)