Karnal: Police fired tear-gas shells and used water cannons to stop farmers and activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) from blocking the Delhi-Chandigarh highway (NH-44) at Shahbad in Kurukshetra on Tuesday afternoon. Traffic on both sides of the national highway was halted after several protesters breached barricades to reach the road.
Several union leaders and office-bearers were reportedly detained, while other protesters faced water cannons and police forces on Barara Road.
The protest, led by BKU president Gurnam Singh Charuni, gathered near the Shaheed Udham Singh statue after the union’s deadline for the government to begin paddy procurement by September 20 expired.
Kurukshetra deputy commissioner Vishram Meena met farmer leaders at the site to persuade them against the blockade. However, Charuni and his aides remained adamant on their demand for immediate kharif crop purchasing.
Following the failure of initial talks, the protesters marched toward the highway, located just metres from the statue.
Addressing the crowd earlier, Charuni accused the government of repeatedly betraying farmers. “This is the third consecutive paddy season we are forced to protest,” Charuni said. “There is a deep-seated nexus, and the government aims to loot farmers at mandis during the peak period.”
The standoff follows a meeting called by BKU (Charuni) at the Shahbad grain market last Wednesday, where farmers initially demanded paddy and bajra procurement start by September 15. Though the Haryana government requested the Union government to begin procurement for the 2026–27 Kharif season on September 20, no purchases began, prompting Charuni to issue the September 22 highway blockade ultimatum.
While procurement typically begins October 1, it was advanced to September 22 last year following similar farmer demands.
Addressing the delay, Haryana agriculture minister Shyam Singh Rana said in Karnal that the majority of paddy currently arriving at mandis is basmati, adding that formal state procurement will commence once field crop verifications are complete.