Chandigarh, 10 July 2024 | ANN

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday directed the Haryana government to open the Shambhu border within a week. Due to the farmers’ protest, the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana has been barricaded to prevent farmers from marching to Delhi and also closed for public transport for over five months. Farmers were marching to Delhi to demand mainly a law to guarantee a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops when they were stopped at Shambhu border.

The bench also said, “both the states should make efforts that Shambhu border is restored to its original and ensure that law and order was maintained.”

During the hearing, Additional Advocate General for Haryana Deepak Sabharwal argued that protesting farmers may enter Ambala and conduct a gherao at the Superintendent of Police’s office.

Haryana government in an affidavit submitted to the court also told that barricading was installed at the Shambhu border on February 10 to stop the farmers from moving forward and due to the security of the local area, the barricading can only be removed if the farmers shift their dharna from the national highway.

The bench observed, “We are living in a democracy; farmers cannot be stopped from entering Haryana.”

It said the highway was closed due to preventive measures by the Haryana government, and five months have passed since then.

The bench was hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea filed in February by one Uday Pratap Singh which sought to stay all obstructive actions by the Centre and the Punjab and Haryana governments against the farmers’ ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest, which was halted on February 13.

Farmers have been protesting at the Shambhu border under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) non-political.

The bench also asked the farmer unions to ensure they abide by the law.
_______________________________________________________________________