Punjab Farmers Block Roads as India‑US Trade Deal Sparks Fresh Protests

Early afternoon on July 21, 2026, a sea of tractors, cars and on‑foot demonstrators surged from Patiala toward Delhi, intent on making their voices heard at Kisan Ghat. This time, the rally isn’t about minimum support prices; it’s about the sweeping India‑United States trade agreement that farmer groups say will open Indian farms to foreign corporate interests.

Police at the Shambhu border – the main gateway between Punjab and Haryana – raised the barricades just as the first convoy arrived. Within minutes, the Haryana Police sealed the crossing, invoking the dreaded Section 163 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which empowers authorities to restrict movement in the interest of public order.

Across the nearby Khanauri crossing, a similar scene unfolded. Officials halted dozens of buses and tractors, directing drivers to abandon their vehicles and continue on foot if they still wished to reach the capital. One farmer, speaking to IANS, shrugged, "We’ll walk. We’ll be there tomorrow," echoing the determination that has become a hallmark of these protests.

Because of the closures, the National Highway 44 – the main artery linking Delhi to the north‑west – has been rerouted. The Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory urging commuters to avoid Velodrome Road, Rajghat DTC Depot Road and the adjacent bypasses. Instead, drivers are being steered onto Satyagrah Marg and other peripheral routes, a change that has already caused snarls during rush hour.

Beyond Punjab, farmers from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and even as far as Odisha have joined the march. Major farmer bodies – the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the BKU Ekta Sangharsh – have pledged to converge at Kisan Ghat, demanding the release of detained activists like Gurnam Singh Chaduni and a genuine dialogue with the government.

Leader Sarwan Singh Pandher, speaking to PTI, tried to calm nerves: "We have no intention of breaking barricades or escalating violence. We simply want our concerns heard and the arrested farmers freed." Yet his words did little to quell the simmering frustration over a deal that, according to the protestors, touches everything from dairy and agriculture to digital trade, e‑commerce and intellectual‑property rights.

Meanwhile, traffic officials in Haryana released a separate advisory, suggesting that travelers heading to Delhi from Punjab take the Ambala Cantonment‑Chandigarh‑Lalru‑Dera Bassi‑Zirakpur route, while those coming out of the capital should use the Rajpura‑Lalru‑Dera Bassi corridor. The aim? To keep the flow of goods and commuters moving while the protest swells.

As night fell, the barricades remained intact, Section 163 stayed in force and the hum of engines gave way to marching footsteps. The question on everyone’s lips: how long will the government hold out, and what concessions, if any, will be offered before the farmers decide to pull back their tractors and return to their fields?