Mobile internet shut in Haryana to prevent farmers' march to Delhi

The Manohar Lal Khattar government has issued a notification, saying dongle services provided on mobile phones will remain suspended and only voice calls will be permitted.

The farmers demand a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce, pension, and insurance schemes. More than 200 organisations are part of the protest.

Mobile internet services have been suspended in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts till Tuesday night.

Police, meanwhile, have planned to seal Haryana-Punjab borders to ensure protesting farmers from the neighbouring state cannot enter Haryana before proceeding to Delhi.

This move will inconvenience those travelling between Chandigarh and Delhi. Police have announced alternative routes for this purpose.

Haryana Police have advised commuters to avoid arterial roads on Tuesday. It has also warned of traffic disruptions due to the protest.

On the borders between Haryana and Delhi, cement barriers, barbed wires and sandbags have been placed to stop the farmers from crossing into the national capital. Water cannons and drones have also been brought in.

Meanwhile, the Centre has invited the protesting farmers for talks tomorrow.

However, it is unlikely that the meeting will culminate in the farmers calling off protests as the demands require detailed discussion and parliamentary moves.

The protest is being organised by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and several farmers' organisations have distanced themselves from it.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal), which was part of the farmers' protest in 2020-21 that led to the Centre withdrawing three laws, said they won't join Tuesday's protest.

Instead, they will participate in a protest on Friday. The BKU, however, warned that if farmers part of Tuesday's protest are "manhandled," all unions will hit the streets.