New Delhi: Due to the 10-hour Bharat Bandh of various farmers unions on Monday against the three new agricultural laws of the central government, in many parts of the country, especially in Haryana, Punjab and Western Life in Uttar Pradesh remained affected. Thousands of passengers were stranded due to cancellation of various trains and closure of highways and major roads.
During the Bharat Bandh from 6 am to 4 pm, there were demonstrations at many places, which were relatively peaceful. There were no reports of any injuries or serious clashes. It was most visible around Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, which have been centers of agrarian protests. Apart from this, its effect was also visible in large areas of Kerala, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.
Protesters blocked highways and main roads and sat on train tracks at several places since morning during the bandh called by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of forty farmers’ unions.
25 trains affected in North India
However, a large part of India remained untouched by the bandh. Around 25 trains were affected in North India. Apart from this, the movement of trucks carrying essential goods along with passenger vehicles was also blocked.
Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida were particularly affected in the Delhi-NCR region, with thousands of people moving every day. Delhi remained mostly unaffected, but people faced some difficulties due to traffic jams on its borders. People got delayed in going to office, college and doctor. Long queues of vehicles were seen on the roads.
Farmers blocked roads leading to the national capital, including Ghazipur in western Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this, some farmers sat on the tracks in Sonepat, Haryana. In Punjab’s Patiala too, members of BKU-Ugrahan sat on the tracks to register their protest.
Historic response to Bharat Bandh – SKM
The United Kisan Morcha (SKM), the main body of farmers’ unions opposing the three agricultural laws, on Monday said its Bharat Bandh call has received an “unprecedented and historic” response in over 23 states and no untoward incident has been reported from anywhere. There is no information.
In a statement, the Morcha said, “There are reports of very positive and overwhelming response to the call for Bharat Bandh… On 10 months of peaceful protest with legitimate demands of the country’s Annadata. Natural participation of different sections of the society was observed at most places.
The Morcha said that Bharat Bandh was peaceful in more than 23 states and no untoward incident was reported. The Morcha also lauded the political parties and state governments for supporting the bandh.
The statement said that Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Reports came from hundreds of places in Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
Punjab Chief Minister said – I stand with the farmers
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi wrote, “I stand with the farmers and appeal to the Central Government to withdraw the three anti-farmer laws. Our farmers have been fighting for their rights for more than a year and now is the time when their voices should be heard. I appeal to all the farmers to keep their point in a peaceful manner.
In neighboring Haryana, highways were blocked in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Kurukshetra. There are also reports of farmers sitting on rail tracks at some places in both the states. A Northern Railway spokesperson said, “More than 20 places are being blocked in Delhi, Ambala and Ferozepur divisions. Around 25 trains have been affected due to this.”
Farmer leader Yogendra Yadav told a TV channel that the bandh was “extraordinarily successful”. Expressing happiness over this, he said that farmers’ organizations are on the roads in many states. He also apologized to the affected people.
Many political parties supported the bandh
Several non-NDA parties supported the bandh. These included Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, Telugu Desam Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Left Party and Swaraj India. The YSR Congress government in Andhra Pradesh had also announced its support for the Bharat Bandh.
The effect of bandh was also seen in West Bengal where the Left Front has supported the call for bandh. In photographs that surfaced from Kolkata, protesters can be seen sitting on a railway track. Similar images also came from West Midnapore, in which Left Front supporters blocked the IIT Kharagpur-Hijri railway line.
Public transport was also off the roads in Odisha, affecting normal life in the state. Bandh supporters, including members of Congress and Left parties, staged dharnas at important intersections across the state amid the rain. Roads were blocked in Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Rayagada and Subarnapur among other places.
Markets and educational institutions remained closed
Educational institutions that reopened after the lockdown also did not open in view of the Bharat Bandh. Markets were closed, but shops selling essential commodities, including drug stores and milk shops, remained untouched. Many trade unions and bank employees’ unions are also supporting the 12-hour bandh.
Public transport was affected in Kerala, where the ruling LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF are supporting the strike. Almost all trade unions in the state supported the bandh and buses of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) also remained off the roads. Most of the people traveled by private vehicles only when needed.
Union leaders, including INTUC state president R Chandrasekaran, say that the bandh will be peaceful and vehicles will not be stopped or shops will not be forcibly closed.
Not much impact in Karnataka
In Karnataka, life was not affected much in the first few hours, business was normal and traffic services remained normal. However, vehicular movement was disrupted in many parts of the state, especially in Bengaluru, due to protests and attempts by farmers to block roads on major national and state highways.
Activists of ‘Socialist Unity Center of India’ took out a protest march in Guwahati. All emergency establishments including hospitals, medicine shops, relief and rescue operations, essential services and people facing any problem have been exempted from the strike.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi supported the farmers’ ‘Bharat Bandh’ and said that the farmers’ non-violent Satyagraha is unbroken. Gandhi tweeted, “The farmers’ non-violent satyagraha is intact even today, but the exploiting government does not like it, so today India is closed.” Asked to take part in ‘Bharat Bandh’. Several political parties have supported the 10-hour bandh.
Normal life in Mumbai and Indore
Bharat Bandh did not show any effect in Indore, which is called the financial capital of Madhya Pradesh, and public life and business activities remained normal. Business in commercial establishments and local transport services remained normal in Mumbai as well. Congress workers with placards in their hands gathered at some places like Andheri and Jogeshwari and raised slogans against agricultural laws. Apart from this, the bandh has not shown any effect in the city so far.
In Telangana, Congress, Left parties, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and others staged demonstrations at various places in the state. Activists of opposition parties staged demonstrations outside bus stands at various places in the state to disrupt the operation of buses. Slogans were raised against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Center and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government of Telangana. Protests were held in Vanparthi, Nalgonda, Nagarkurnool, Adilabad, Rajanna-Sircilla, Vikarabad and other districts.
Mandis and markets remained closed in Rajasthan
In Rajasthan, the impact of farmers’ Bharat Bandh was visible in several districts, including agriculture-dominated Ganganagar and Hanumangarh, where major mandis and markets remained closed. The farmers staged a blockade on major roads and held meetings.
The movement of about 25 trains was affected on Monday due to ‘Bharat Bandh’. A Northern Railway spokesperson said, “There are jams at more than 20 places in Delhi, Ambala and Ferozepur divisions. Due to this the movement of about 25 trains has been affected.
Significantly, farmers from different parts of the country, especially Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at the borders of Delhi since November last year. The protesters are demanding the repeal of three agricultural laws of the Centre. Farmers fear that this will end the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system. However, the government is projecting these laws as major agricultural reforms. More than 10 rounds of talks have taken place between the two sides, but all were in vain.
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Orignally published at Tailored Stash
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