INDIAN police fired tear gas today at the hundreds of farmers protesting in New Delhi for guaranteed crop prices to protect their livelihoods.

Clashes between police and farmers broke out at a border crossing between northern Punjab and Haryana states, where the protests began, as entry points into the capital were sealed off with metal barricades and barbed wire.

The authorities also suspended internet service in some districts of Haryana to prevent protesters from communicating.

The farmers are seeking legal guarantees of more state support or a minimum purchase price for farm produce.

A similar protest three years ago resulted in tens of thousands of farmers camping on the capital’s outskirts for more than a year.

The government protects agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices by announcing a minimum purchase price for certain essential crops at the beginning of the sowing season, considering the cost of production.

But state agencies often buy only rice and wheat at the support level, and farmers want minimum purchase price for at least 20 essential crops.

The farmers are also pressing the government to meet its promise to double their income, complaining that cultivation costs have jumped over the years while incomes have remained stagnant.

They have further asked the government to waive their loans.

Farmers’ leaders say they will protest in New Delhi where the parliament is in session.

In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi repealed agricultural laws that the protesting farmers said would hurt their incomes.

The government then said that it would set up a panel of farmers and government officials to find ways to ensure support prices for some essential farm produce.

Multiple meetings since then have made no progress and farmers accuse the government of not fulfilling that promise.