Protesters stay put at Punjab-Haryana border, govt-farmers talks on Thursday

Three Union ministers will meet farmer leaders in Chandigarh Thursday for another round of talks as the standoff between the protesters and police at the PunjabHaryana border entered its second day marked by more clashes between the two sidesAt Shambhu border point near Ambala there was intermittent shelling Wednesday by security personnel at the Delhi Chalo protesters who are demanding minimum support price for their crops Tear smoke was used whenever any group of farmers moved towards the barricadesSecurity personnel faced stonepelting from the protestersA similar standoff continued at the at Data SinghwalaKhanauri border in Haryanas Jind districtBut the situation remained less volatile compared to Tuesday when farmers tried to shift cement barriers at Shambhu with their tractors attempting to push towards DelhiFarmer leaders claimed that over 100 protesters were hurt Tuesday hit by rubber bullets and tear gas shells Police said 24 of their own men were injured in the stonepelting by protesters during the first day of the protestKisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the meeting will with ministers Arjun Munda Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai will take place at 5 pm ThursdayIt will be the third round of meetings between the farmer leaders and the Centre in Chandigarh after farm organisations announced their plan to march to DelhiThe two earlier meetings held before the march began remained inconclusiveThe Samyukta Kisan Morcha NonPolitical and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the Delhi Chalo agitation to put pressure on the Centre for their demands including a law on MSP loan waivers and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendationsEarlier in the day Pandher told reporters if there is an invitation for talks with the Centre they would consider it We were ready for talks yesterday and we are ready for it even today he saidDefence Minister Rajnath Singh and Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda too held discussions in Delhi on addressing the farmers issues sources said Singh is a former agriculture ministerThe Congress again indicated its support for the protest with party leader Rahul Gandhi speaking to a farmer injured in police actionTalked on phone with former soldier Gurmeet Singh ji who was seriously injured in police atrocities during the farmers movement Gandhi wrote in Hindi on social mediaWe are with you Dont worry Gandhi told the farmer in the conversation brought about by Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja WarringYou are fighting for what is important for the country You earlier worked for the country and you are doing it now as well Shabash Well done Best of luck Gandhi told the farmer while slamming the Narendra Modi governments dictatorial attitudeThe farmers at Shambhu with their tractortrolleys lining the road and more arriving from different parts of Punjab are still over 200 km from their destinationMultiple layers of concrete blocks and metal spikes are placed at Delhis Singhu and Tikri borders with Haryana as well as at the Ghazipur border with Uttar PradeshDelhiSonipat traffic at Singhu and the movement of vehicles to Bahadurgarh through Tikri are suspended an official saidSecurity personnel in antiriot gear are deployed and drones used to keep an eye on the situationPeople had to cross the Singhu border on foot Tuesday with buses from Delhi dropping them off much ahead of the Haryana borderBack at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana protesters have arranged tankers for water to counter the irritation caused in the eyes due to tear smoke They also flew kites hoping this would interfere with the movement of a drone spotted again on WednesdayWhile BJPrun Haryana is not allowing protesters passage to Delhi they face no restrictions in Aam Aadmi Partyruled PunjabAuthorities in Punjab have registered their objection to the use of a drone by Haryana to airdrop tear gas shells on agitating farmersPatiala Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmed Parray wrote to his Ambala counterpart on Tuesday asking him not to send their drone inside Punjabs territoryIn Delhi commuters faced a harrowing time at Singhu border due to the sealing of the area and the heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forcesThe bus dropped us way behind Singhu border which has been closed by the police They told us that we have to walk towards the other side to get another mode of transport to Delhi Madhu who was accompanied by her husband and two relatives saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever