Police in Punjab, India, detained hundreds of farmers protesting for over a year for better crop prices, dismantling their camps. Despite ongoing talks with the government, no resolution has been reached.

Police in India's northern state of Punjab have detained hundreds of farmers who have been protesting for over a year, demanding better crop prices. Authorities also used bulldozers to dismantle the makeshift camps set up by the protesting farmers.

The Punjab police detained key protest leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, early Thursday morning. Notably, Dallewal was taken away in an ambulance, as he had been on an indefinite hunger strike for several months.

"We did not need to use any force because there was no resistance," said Nanak Singh, a senior police officer, in a statement to the ANI news agency. "The farmers cooperated well and they sat in buses themselves."

Singh also confirmed that the entire road would be cleared and reopened for traffic and that the Haryana Police would begin their action soon. He emphasized that the farmers had been informed of the police's intentions beforehand.

Footage from the scene showed police using bulldozers to dismantle tents and stages set up by the farmers.

The farmers have been protesting for more than a year, calling for the government to provide a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. They had been camping at the border of Haryana, blocking the highway after their protest march to the capital, New Delhi, was stopped by authorities.

Over the past year, several rounds of talks between farmer leaders and the government have been held, but no resolution has been reached. The seventh round of negotiations concluded on Wednesday, and the next meeting is scheduled for May 4, 2025.

Rakesh Tikait, a spokesperson for the Bhartiya Kisan Union, criticized the government's approach, stating on X, "On one hand, the government is negotiating with the farmer organizations, and on the other hand, it is arresting them."

The ongoing conflict highlights the persistent tension between the government and the farming community, which has shown resilience in demanding their rights.