After Haryana, telecom services hit in Punjab areas too

CHANDIGARH: The Union Home Ministry has ordered suspension of telecom services in Shutrana, Khanauri and Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab on Friday in the wake of Bharat bandh call by farmer unions.

Earlier, in neighbouring Haryana, mobile Internet services, bulk SMS and all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice calls in the jurisdiction of districts Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa were suspended till Thursday.

A panel of three Union ministers will be holding a meeting with protesting farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Thursday evening for another round of talks amid the ongoing standoff between the agitators and security personnel at the Punjab-Haryana border.

This will be the third round of talks between the two sides: the previous two rounds of dialogue on February 8 and 12 remained inconclusive.

Farmers from Punjab are camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana seeking to march towards Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands.

The farmer leaders said they would not make any fresh attempt to move towards the national capital till the meeting is held.