New Delhi: The Haryana police fired tear gas and water cannon on Thursday in clashes with several thousand farmers marching to Delhi to protest against new agricultural reforms. The confrontation happened when police tried to stop the farmers, from Punjab, crossing a bridge about 200 kms (120 miles) from Delhi.

Police eventually allowed the marchers to continue towards the capital, after a two-hour stand-off. Armed with sticks and rocks, some of the farmers threw police barriers into the river below. The police opened fire with water cannon and tear gas, further enrage the protestors. Legislation passed earlier this year means that farmers are now free to sell their produce to anyone at any price, instead of to state-controlled markets at fixed rates.

Modified tractors, carrying rations, woolens, essential items and people, trundled through Haryana in the chilly winter evening as thousands of Punjab farmers protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws, slowly moved closer to Delhi, undeterred by police barricades, tear gas and water cannons. “More than 50,000 farmers will be standing at the Delhi border on Friday evening,” two farmers’ bodies claimed. Close to midnight, water cannons started up at Haryana’s Sonipat to disperse a small group of Punjab farmers. The day has been replete with clashes — on one occasion the protesters even pitched the yellow iron barricades into the river below while trying to cross a narrow bridge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed this as a “complete transformation of the agriculture sector” that would empower “tens of millions of farmers” and encourage much-needed investment and modernization. But the main opposition Congress party, which is in power in Punjab and backs the protests, has argued the change leaves farmers at the mercy of large corporations. “For nearly two months, farmers have been protesting peacefully in Punjab without any problem,” Amarinder Singh, chief minister of Punjab, said on Thursday.

The protesting farmers had also blocked the movement of trains in Punjab for the last two months, before yielding to public and government pressure and lifting the blockade. Thursday’s stand-off resulted in a long traffic hold-up on one of the country’s busiest national highways linking New Delhi to several northern states.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha and All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee in a statement said that “It is expected that more than 50,000 farmers will be standing at the Delhi border by today evening. The numbers are expected to swell through the night as thousands of tractors and trolleys are carrying farmers, women and children from interior areas of Punjab”. In Haryana’s Sonipat, in the middle of a cold wave, water cannons started up at full spate close to midnight as the police tried to disperse a small group of Punjab farmers who clamoured to continue their journey towards Delhi. The group had been talking to the police through the evening from across a trench and a barricade, requesting passage.

The Punjab farmers, who had been camping out at the sealed Haryana border since yesterday, started their march this morning. Most have managed to reach Haryana’s Karnal. The protesters had an intense, two-hour clash with the police on a bridge nearly 200 km from Delhi. As the barricades were thrown into the river, the police responded with tear gas and water cannons, which further enraged the protesters. Thousands of farmers from Haryana have been making their way towards Delhi since yesterday, despite the police crackdown. Most of them spent the night at Karnal and had started the march towards Panipat, but have been stopped midway by the police. Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav who was leading a team of farmers, was detained by the Haryana Police at Gurugram.

      In Uttar Pradesh, a huge gathering of more than 2000 farmers was stopped at Bilaspur turn, Rampur. The UP police prevented them from moving to Delhi and they are waiting on the Nainital-Delhi highway to be allowed to move ahead, a farmers’ body said. Social activist Medha Patkar was stopped from entering Uttar Pradesh at its border with Rajasthan.