# Police fire tear gas as farmers block highway over paddy delay 2026-09-23T02:07:00+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Haryana police fired tear gas shells and used water cannons on Tuesday to stop farmers from blocking the Delhi-Chandigarh national highway at Shahbad in Kurukshetra. The protest was led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charuni, who had given the government a deadline of September 22 to begin paddy procurement. The highway remained blocked for about 10 to 15 minutes before police dispersed the crowd. Kurukshetra deputy commissioner Vishram Meena held talks with farmer leaders at the site but the blockade proceeded after talks failed. Farmers allege the government is deliberately delaying paddy procurement despite over two lakh quintals already arriving in mandis. Hindustan Times reports that Haryana agriculture minister Shyam Singh Rana said most current arrivals are basmati, and formal state procurement will begin after field crop verifications. The All India Kisan Sabha condemned the police action, calling the government anti-farmer. Paddy procurement for the kharif season was expected to start from September 20. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both Hindustan Times and The Hindu report the same events: Haryana police used water cannons and tear gas after farmers blocked NH-44 over paddy procurement delays. Hindustan Times leads with police action and the earlier deadline expiry, giving more space to the official account through the deputy commissioner's presence and the agriculture minister's statement that basmati arrivals are the reason for the delay. The Hindu leads with the protest's cause and gives greater voice to farmer leaders, including detailed allegations of corruption and portal manipulation, as well as quoting the All India Kisan Sabha's condemnation. The difference is emphasis: Hindustan Times frames it as a law-and-order crisis where officials acted after talks failed, The Hindu frames it as a government accountability failure. The key tension is whether the delay is procedural (anticipatory basmati arrivals, field verifications) or deliberate (corruption, acreage fraud). The tribunal hears the appeal on 12 September. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Leads with police action and official justification via minister's basmati statement - thehindu.com (government critical) Leads with farmer allegations and police injury detail, gives more space to protest leaders Tags: Bhartiya Kisan Union, Gurnam Singh Charuni, Haryana Police, Kurukshetra, NH-44, paddy procurement Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/police-fire-tear-gas-as-farmers-block-highway-over-paddy-delay/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/police-fire-tear-gas-as-farmers-block-highway-over-paddy-delay/#story-in-brief