Khanauri border reopens after 13 months; Punjab farmer groups boycott government meeting

Chandigarh: The Khanauri border between Haryana and Punjab, which had been closed for 13 months due to the farmers’ protest, has been reopened. This has restored movement on the Delhi-Patiala highway. Haryana Police had removed cement barricades from the site on March 20, but clearing trolleys from the Punjab side took longer.

Earlier, the Shambhu border between Ambala and Patiala was also reopened, allowing traffic to resume on the Delhi-Amritsar-Jammu highway.

Meanwhile, two Punjab-based farmer organizations boycotted a meeting called by the Punjab government. The meeting, organized by Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh, had invited representatives from the Punjab chapter of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ugrahan.

However, both groups refused to attend, demanding the release of detained leaders from the Shambhu-Khanauri border before engaging in talks.

On the first day of the Punjab Assembly’s budget session on Friday, Congress legislators staged a protest over the action taken against farmers. While Governor Gulab Chand Kataria continued his address, Congress members staged a walkout.