Farmers’ march to Delhi stopped at Haryana-Punjab border

A group of 51 farmers, led by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, was halted by Haryana Police at the Khanauri-Data Singhwala border in Jind on August 16, 2026, as they embarked on a 13-day 'Kisan Bachao Padyatra' (save farmers walk) towards Delhi. Accompanied by approximately 150 supporters, the farmers aimed to pressure the government over various demands, such as excluding agriculture from the proposed India-U.S. trade agreement, guaranteeing the Minimum Support Price (MSP), waiving off farmers' loans, and withdrawing police cases registered against them during agitations across the country. They planned to arrive at Jantar Mantar on August 29, 2026, for their protest.

The farmers marched peacefully on foot and did not bring tractors or trolleys, as informed by Dallewal over the phone to The Hindu. Haryana Police had permitted the farmers to proceed on foot instead of using tractor-trolleys, if they had secured permission for their march. They questioned the decision to stop their march, stating that they had applied for permission to reach Jantar Mantar, which reportedly permits gatherings of up to 500 people, while they were only taking around 300 individuals.

All Haryana-based office-bearers and associates of the farmers' movement were detained, according to Dallewal. In anticipation of the march, the authorities had erected concrete barriers and barbed wire, sealing the stretch between the Khanauri border in Punjab and the Data Singhwala border in Haryana. Traffic advisories were issued, urging vehicles traveling between Punjab and Haryana to take alternate routes through nearby villages.

Security was heightened around the Narwana canal bridge and surrounding border areas, with reinforced concrete barricades, water cannons, and riot-control vehicles deployed to impede the protesters' advance. Haryana Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Singh announced that prohibitory orders were in effect in the district, emphasizing that no such movement by the farmers' group had been sanctioned by any competent authority.