After 21 Hours, Farmers Lift Haryana Highway Blockade
NDTV
The state government has said it will start moving paddy from grain markets, though October 1 will remain the official procurement date.
Haryana farmers who had blocked a key national highway for over 21 hours over demands of early procurement of paddy have lifted the blockade after the state government relented to their demands soon after being pulled up by a court for failing to anticipate a breakdown of law and order. The blockade caused huge traffic disruptions on National Highway 44 around Kurukshetra.
This highway connects Delhi with Chandigarh - passing through one end of Haryana to another - and then further to Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh.
The Haryana government relented soon after a court told them that the highway must be kept open for free flow and movement of traffic without any hindrance "so that the public at large is not put to inconvenience".
In a midnight hearing, the Punjab and Haryana High Court said the district administration should have immediately taken steps to prevent the situation. Directing the state to prevent further deterioration of law and order, the court also advised caution. "Resort to the use of force should be the last option, and that too unless the administration has no other way out," it said.
