-Announce all businesses shutdown
-Gather at 32 locations across Punjab, Delhi and Haryana
-Opposition parties join protests across India
DM Monitoring
NEW DELHI: During the strike, all business establishments will remain closed and no road and rail traffic will be allowed to ply, the farmers’ unions announced.
The protesting farmers during the ongoing nation-wide strike or Bharat Bandh are sitting across 32 locations in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana— blocking roads, rail routes, and highways. The blockades have affected rail movement, with trains coming to a halt; four Shatabdi trains have been canceled so far.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of farmers’ unions, have called for a nationwide strike in protest against the three recently passed farm laws. The strike, which began at 6 am, will extend until 6 pm, the union said.
The protest is being observed on March 26 to mark four months since the farmers’ agitation first began in November. “The peaceful bandh will remain effective from morning till evening,” farmer leader Buta Singh Burjgill said.
In view of Bharat Bandh, farmers have blocked the Delhi-Ghazipur border; the traffic police have cautioned travellers to avoid the route. Protesters in Ambala have blocked the GT road and the railway track near Shahpur.
During the strike, all business establishments will remain closed and no road and rail traffic will be allowed to ply, the farmers’ unions announced.
This is the second nationwide strike announced by farmers. The first Bharat Bandh took place on December 8, during which establishments shut down in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Assam.
Workers of RJD, Congress and the Left parties hit the streets across the state on Friday as part of “Bihar Bandh” call given by them in support of farmers cause and also to protest police action against the opposition MLAs in the assembly three days back.
The bandh had partial impact on normal life in the state as protesting opposition parties workers blocked national highways, state highways and squatted on railway tracks at few places.
The Railways on Friday said except in some locations in Punjab and Haryana, the Bharat Bandh called by farmer unions protesting the Central agri laws had “almost zero impact” on rail services across the country.
In the morning, protestors had squatted on railway tracks at 44 locations across the two states which led to four Shatabdi trains being cancelled, 35 other passenger trains detained and the movement of 40 goods trains affected, according to a northern railway spokesperson.
“Barring some limited number of trains in Punjab and Haryana, the bandh has had almost zero impact across the nation. Other than in these two states, around five to six trains were delayed for some time. Demonstrations in support of the ‘Bharat Bandh’ call by farmer unions protesting against the three farm laws were held in the Bundelkhand region on Friday but there was no impact on traffic and businesses.
Normal traffic was seen on the roads in Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Mahoba and Lalitpur districts of the region, where movement of vehicles were seen and markets remained open.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Banda, Mahendra Pratap Singh Chauhan said that some farmers associated with the Bundelkhand Kisan Union gave a memorandum to authorities by staging a peaceful protest.
