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Shambhu border closed for Delhi-bound traffic ahead of farmers’ march

Two days ahead of the impending farmers’ march to the national capital, the Haryana authorities on Saturday closed the Haryana-Punjab border at Shambhu for vehicular movement towards Ambala or Delhi.

The Ambala administration in coordination with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and PWD (B&R) put in place jersey barriers near the Ghaggar flyover on NH-44 (Panipat-Jalandhar) to thwart attempts by farmers to enter Delhi as called by the union leaders.

Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapur, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sibash Kabiraj and NHAI officials were also present on the spot to review the arrangements. Officials said service lanes or link roads on the border have also been closed, but traffic movement from Ambala towards Punjab remains smooth on the other side.

NH-44 is a major thoroughfare in Northern India, connecting Delhi with Amritsar and other major cities en route. Farmer unions had in 2020 blocked the highway at multiple locations, thus rendering the supply of goods to and fro from the national capital difficult.

Farmers may move to march up a day

Sources said police have received inputs that farmers from Punjab might move towards Delhi a day before February 13 as raids continue in the Ambala to detain Haryana-based leaders who are reportedly in hiding to evade agencies.

Strict arrangements, including metal and jersey barriers, barbed wires, sandbags and other logistics are kept at the Shambhu border, while view cutters and frames are also being installed on the Ghaggar bridge to stop farmers from throwing metal barricades over.

Chaos on the highway as no alternate route was announced

Shambhu Border

While no traffic diversion has been issued officially, commuters from Punjab are being directed towards Shambhu/Rajpura to travel via Banur-Airport road-Derabassi-Ambala-Delhi or Shambhu/Rajpura-Banur-Zirakpur-Panchkula- Nada Sahib- Barwala-Shehzadpur-Saha-Shahbad-Delhi.

Travellers can also opt for the Rajpura-Patiala-Pehowa-Kurukshetra-Delhi, or Rajpura-Patiala-Pehowa-152D Expressway-Rohtak-Delhi route to avoid inconvenience.

However, as the traffic was stopped at the flyover on Saturday morning without being diverted in Punjab, travellers called out the mismanagement and blamed Haryana authorities for not informing them in advance.

A commuter travelling from Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, to IGI Airport in Delhi, said he was stopped by Ambala police abruptly. “Commuters are being stopped without any information in advance or on diversion resulting in chaos,” he lamented.

A taxi driver travelling from Ludhiana to the airport echoed the sentiment, saying, “My customer has to board a flight for Canada in the evening. How will we get there on time in the mismanagement? Who will take responsibility?”

Later in the day, Ambala police diverted Punjab-bound traffic at Jaggi City Center on NH-44 towards Ambala-Chandigarh expressway via Baldev Nagar. Commuters headed to Rajpura or beyond are being advised to take alternate routes at Kurukshetra or Karnal to avoid inconvenience.

Farmers’ unions from Punjab and Haryana under the banner of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (apolitical) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) will march towards the national capital via Ambala pressing for their demand for higher minimum support price (MSP).

Farmer unions from Punjab are planning to enter Haryana through three borders — Ambala’s Shambhu barrier; Sirsa’s Dabwali border and Khanauri on the Jind border, where they will be joined by their counterparts from Haryana and they will march towards Delhi to press for their pending demands.

Twelve companies, including 850 personnel from the Rapid Action Force (RAF), The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF) and Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) have been deployed in the district, where Section 144 has already been imposed.

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