Over 21 hours, National Highway blocked Haryana farmers demanding early procurement of paddy have been lifted. The protest had caused huge traffic disruptions on National Highway 44 around Kurukshetra.

“On October 1, the state said it will start moving all paddy stored in grain markets, though official purchase documents will be processed,” Gurnam Singh Charuni, whose organisation Bharatiya Kisan Union-Charuni was leading the protests, said. Also, the state has increased the cap procurement in five districts which were crops 22 to 30 quintals per acre, he added. 

The Haryana government relented soon after being pulled up by a court for failing to anticipate a breakdown of law and order. The court told them that the highway must be kept open for free flow and movement of traffic without any hindrance “so that the public at large is not put to inconvenience”.

“Resort to the use of force should be the last option, and that too unless the administration has no other way out,” it said. All diversions have been removed and traffic cleared, said Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Surinder Singh Bhoria.