Farmers Movement Archive

Bharat Bandh hits traffic in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi

Normal life was disrupted in Punjab and Haryana, the two States which have spearheaded the protest, even as the shutdown remained peaceful. Shops and commercial establishments were seen completely or partially closed except in the joint capital Chandigarh, where they remained open. In Punjab, protestors blocked roads in over 250 places, including National and State highways, disrupting vehicular movement. Public transport was hardly seen on the roads. Supply of essential commodities was disrupted at a few places. In Haryana, Director-General of Police Manoj Yadava, told The Hindu that the bandh was “fairly strong” with around half-a-dozen blockades in each district on an average. Two National Highways, Delhi-Hisar and Delhi-Ambala, were also affected. Agitating farmers sat on the railway tracks at 11 points in the State, affecting the movement of around a hundred trains, a Haryana Railway Police officer said. Nationwide, four Shatabdi trains were cancelled, 35 passenger trains were detained and the movement of 40 goods trains were affected. In Ahmedabad, the police disrupted a press conference being addressed by the BKU-Tikait group’s general secretary Yudhvir Singh and detained him along with eight other farmer leaders. In Bengaluru, farmer leaders attempted to hold a mock funeral procession for the three farm laws, but were detained by city police at multiple locations. The Uttar Pradesh police arrived outside the home of Mukut Singh, State general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, in Etawah around 7 a.m. and placed him under house arrest as a precautionary measure. (With inputs from Chandigarh, Gurugram, Delhi, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Andhra Pradesh, and PTI)

The Hindu

2021-03-27

March 27 2021 00:00 IST