Farmers, police clash at Hry border

The Shambhu border separating Haryana and Punjab turned a battleground on Tuesday as thousands of farmers faced off with columns of security personnel, who lobbed tear gas shells and fired water cannons towards protesters in a bid to keep them from barrelling through layers of barricading and marching towards Delhi.

- Bhavey Nagpal, Sunil Rahar and Karn Pratap Singh

Late on Tuesday, the protesters hit pause for the night, saying they would resume the stir in the morning even as the Centre said it was open to discussions.

The farm leaders said that 110 protesters were injured in clashes with the police, who in turn said that at least 25 security personnel were injured on the Punjab and Haryana borders due to stone-pelting by the protesters.

Meanwhile, anticipatory preparations by the Delhi Police in the national capital rooted commuters in their spots and threw traffic out of gear in several parts of the city, though the protesters were more than 200km away.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a major farmers' union, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accusing the government of trying to divide the agricultural organisations, and urging protesters to take part in a nationwide strike on February 16.

Union agriculture minister Arjun Munda said the Centre would not rush to frame a law on minimum support prices (MSP), one of the farmers' key demands. "In the two rounds of discussions, we agreed to many of their demands. But there was no agreement on certain issues," Munda said. "Announcements have been made only after al mature discussion. For that, we need to keep in mind the interest of every stakeholder."