NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police have placed orders for more than 30,000 tear gas shells, an official said, as the force prepares to prevent Punjab farmers from entering the national capital under their ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest.
Hundreds of farmers marching from Punjab have been stopped at the state’s border with Haryana near Ambala, about 200 kilometres away from Delhi. Haryana security forces have used tear gas on them to try and disperse them.
A Delhi Police source said they are determined not to let the protesters enter the national capital should they advance.
As part of the preparation, the Delhi Police have already stocked up a large number of tear gas shells and ordered 30,000 more from the BSF’s Tear Smoke Unit (TSU) located at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, an official said.
The freshly ordered shells are being brought to Delhi from Gwalior, he said.
A tear gas shell is an anti-riot equipment which is used by security forces to disperse crowd. The gas brings tears by creating irritation in the eyes.
A stock of tear gas shell was also ordered before the G20 Summit held in September 2023, the officer said, adding, a fresh order has been given in the wake of farmers’ agitation.
Another officer said the age of each tear gas shell is three years after which their impact slowly weakens, but they are used up to seven years for practice purposes by the forces.
Under the Delhi Police norms, once a stock gets acquired, the shells are distributed to the district police and other units of the force.
Another officer said that in view of the farmers’ protest, the fresh stock may be distributed to the outer, outer-north and east district police under whose jurisdiction the potential protest sites in the national capital fall.
The Delhi Police have made all logistical arrangements to stop the farmers at the Singhu (Sonepat side), Tikri (Bahadurgarh side) and Ghazipur (Ghaziabad side) borders.
Tikri comes under outer, Singhu under outer-north and Ghazipur in east district.
The security personnel deployed at these borders are already equipped with a large number of tear gas shells, water cannons and other anti-riot equipment.
The personnel deployed at the borders have been strictly asked to ensure not a single farmer or their tractor-trolley enters into the jurisdiction of the national capital.