Haryana CM Khattar’s Hisar visit marked by clashes between farmers and police, several injured
Hisar, May 16: Police here on Sunday lobbed tear gas shells and used force to disperse a group of farmers who tried march towards the venue where Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had gone to inaugurate a COVID hospital.
Many people were injured in the incident.
Khattar inaugurated a 500-bed COVID Hospital on a school premises and had left the venue just before the protest took a violent turn.
The farmers were stopped before they could reach the venue, police said. They allegedly jumped police barricades after which police used force and lobbed tear gas shells.
While farmers claimed that over 50 of them sustained injuries in what they alleged was a police lathicharge, an official spokesperson said over 20 policemen, including a DSP and five policewomen, were also injured.
Police claimed some farmers pelted them with stones when they tried to stop them. Five police vehicles were also damaged by the protesters, they said.
The incident took place when the farmers, who have been protesting against the Centre's new farm laws, started proceeding towards Hisar from the Ramayan toll plaza to stage a protest against Khattar, who was to inaugurate a 500-bed COVID hospital there.
Police detained some agitators, including women. Police claimed they were marching towards the hospital to create obstructions in the chief minister's event.
Farmers are protesting against the Centre's new farm laws since late November and have been opposing public functions of BJP-JJP leaders in the state.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers' unions spearheading the stir against the farm laws, in a statement condemned the brutal assault on the protesters.
The SKM said farmers unions have announced tehsil and district-level protests on Monday in Haryana and UP against the alleged lathicharge.
Opposition Congress and Indian National Lok Dal hit out at the Khattar government for raining lathis on peaceful protesters.
A police spokesperson said the protesters broke metal barricade installed on a canal bridge and threw it into the canal.
After this, the protesters attacked DSP Abhimanyu Lohan, the spokesperson said.
Thereafter, some protesters started entering the Chaudhary Devi Lal Sanjivani Hospital complex set up at Jindal Modern School.
At this place, the miscreants also tried to run a tractor over policemen, leaving some of them injured, the spokesperson said.
"The miscreants have also damaged five police vehicles," they said.
"Surprisingly, even after the conclusion of the hospital's inauguration programme, they tried to enter the premises where the treatment of coronavirus-infected has started today," he said, adding many of them had intention to commit violence on a large scale.
Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni said over 150 farmers have been detained and they should be immediately released.
If not released, they will gherao all police stations in Haryana on Monday, Chaduni said.
The farmers later held a meeting in which Chaduni was also present.
To protest the police action, Chaduni said farmers blocked for two hours several highways, including the KMP expressway and the NH-44 at Pipli.
They also blocked the Jind-Patiala, Jind-Chandigarh, Jind-Rohtak and Hisar-Chandigarh highways.
Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja condemned the use of force against farmers.
Rather than rolling back the farm laws, the BJP-JJP government is raining lathis on farmers, she said in a statement, adding that such a government has no right to stay in power and must step down.
She also alleged that the chief minister inaugurated the hospital in the presence of a large number of people, putting them at risk by not following the COVID protocols.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said farmers' turban turned red with blood .
He said by unleashing such brutality on farmers, the General Dyer face of the Khattar government has been exposed .
INLD senior Abhay Singh Chautala also hit out at the state government, saying the "police lathicharge on peaceful protesting farmers" was condemnable.
Earlier this month, a group of farmers had staged a protest in Jind after they came to know that Chief Minister Manohar Khattar was there to take stock of arrangements in view of the prevailing COVID situation. However, the CM had left the town when farmers started their protest.
हालांकि हमारी लड़ाई केंद्र सरकार के तीन खेती कानूनों के खिलाफ है पर अगर हरियाणा सरकार किसानों के खिलाफ ऐसे हमले करेगी तो किसान जीवन भर हरियाणा के इन भाजपा - जजपा वालों को गावों में नहीं घुसने देंगे और इनका हुक्का पानी हमेशा के लिए बंद कर देंगे।#KisanMazdoorEktaZindabaad pic.twitter.com/LQKyq0uHmz
— Kisan Ekta Morcha (@Kisanektamorcha) May 16, 2021
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KSCA expresses disappointment over missing IPL playoffs, says it was ready to host matches in B’luru
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has issued a clarification stating that it was fully prepared to host the IPL playoffs and final matches in Bengaluru but the fixtures were allotted to other venues.
In a media note, KSCA said it was disappointed with the decision. The association stated that its president, former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, had been in touch with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and had formally conveyed the association’s readiness and interest in hosting the matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
KSCA said the IPL matches held in Bengaluru this season were appreciated for smooth conduct, crowd management and overall experience for spectators. It said this reflected its ability to handle high-profile matches.
The association also stated that it had sent a detailed communication to the BCCI explaining its preparedness and the operational arrangements followed during the current IPL season. According to KSCA, these systems have been in place since the start of the Indian Premier League in 2008 and were followed consistently, including during previous playoff matches hosted in Bengaluru.
The clarification added that the communication sent to the BCCI was only meant to provide factual and operational details and to bring clarity on logistical and stakeholder-related requirements involved in hosting such matches.
KSCA said that although it had shown willingness and preparedness, the BCCI has decided to allocate the playoff matches to other venues. It added that the reasons for this decision have not been formally shared with the association, but it respects the authority of the board in taking such decisions.
The association further said it remains ready to host matches of national and international importance and will continue to cooperate with the BCCI, franchises, government authorities and other stakeholders for conducting cricket events.
The statement was issued by KSCA official spokesperson Vinay Mruthyunjaya, who also thanked the media and cricket fans for their continued support.
