New Delhi: The Haryana Police on Tuesday (July 21) morning barricaded the Shambhu border to prevent farmers from travelling to Delhi ahead of the Kisan Mahapanchayat against the India-US interim trade framework, erecting blockades and placing concrete blocks at the bridge over Ghaggar river to curb movement of farmer convoys. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher from Kisan Mazdoor Sanghrash Committee Punjab strongly condemned the move.Pandher, speaking to news agency PTI, said they were headed for a day-long peaceful “maha rally” in the national capital, which would end by the evening. He said that 33 unions, according to him, were planning to travel to the national capital for the peaceful protest.The Kisan Mahapanchayat is being organised at Delhi’s Kisan Ghat under the banner of the “Desh Bachao Morcha” to oppose the proposed trade deal, which, according to farmer unions, would allow cheaper agricultural imports into India, adversely affecting domestic farm incomes.Several groups of farmers from Punjab and Haryana began their journey towards Delhi in buses on Tuesday (July 21) morning. The convoy started from Gurdwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib after more than a 1000 farmers spent the night at the gurdwara’s sarai (pilgrims’ inns). From the gurdwara, the convoy reached Madhopur on the GT Road and proceeded towards the Shambhu border where they were stopped by the police.VIDEO | Haryana Police put concrete barricades at Shambhu border as farmers prepare to head to Delhi for a planned ‘mahapanchayat’ to protest against the proposed Indo-US trade deal.(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/kfjwDQXnEW— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 21, 2026Pandher alleged that the Haryana’s government’s decision to intercept farmers’ groups showed the “true face” of Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, who has a the habit of visiting Punjab and making empty promises.Meanwhile traffic entering the city from suburbs in the eastern parts of the national capital, such as Indirapuram, parts of Noida, Vaishali and Khora (Khoda) also slowed to a crawl from early morning to late afternoon. Police and traffic police checkpoints halted vehicles on the expressway as the government hoped to prevent people from joining the youth-led protest at Jantar Mantar.“Traffic has slowed because of barricades put up to stop farmers,” said a police officer stationed on the Delhi shoulder of national highway 42/44 at UP Gate. Another police officer, stationed on the UP side of the same highway, said the traffic had been slowed because of the “Jantar Mantar protest”. “Jantar Mantar pe andolan hua hai kal. Bandobast karna padta hai hamein – A protest took place at Jantar Mantar yesterday (July 20); we have to make arrangements for checking vehicles entering the city due to that.”Regarding the trade deal between India and US, Pandher said that none of the stakeholders, including farmers unions, labourers, livestock rearers, micro industries and small-scale merchant guilds who would be directly affected, were consulted by the government before the deal.He added that all the information that farmer unions were receiving was coming from American press releases as the Indian government has chosen to remain silent and obscurant on the matter.Pandher emphasised interim trade framework’s plan to lower reciprocal tariffs and non-tariff barriers on imports to India and how it would severely impact national agricultural interests. He further voiced lack of transparency in negotiations and the government’s abject oversight in consulting any other party.Pandher said, “We request that farmer unions be consulted by the government before the negotiations. The deal is not in the interest of the country and that is why we are going to Delhi.”Clarifying that the maha rally was different from the 2020-2021 farmers’ protest, Pandher added that they would protest wherever they would be stopped by the government. “Punjab is a part of India and we are demanding that we be permitted to go and peacefully protest in out national capital,” he said speaking to news agency IANS, “The border is not being closed by the farmer unions, it is being closed by the Haryana government.”The protest comes a day after Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni was taken into custody by the Haryana Police in Kurukshetra, Haryana, while he was travelling to Delhi for the protest. The union’s spokesperson Prince Waraich has alleged that the state detained several of its workers to prevent them from participating in the protest.