Farmers Movement Archive

Traffic hit as protesting farmers block tracks, roads in Haryana

The rail and road traffic in Haryana was hit on Friday with farmers, including women in large numbers, holding blockades at multiple points across the State in response to the call for “Bharat Bandh” from Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a coalition of farmer unions. The protests, however, remained peaceful, said the police. The 12-hour “Bharat Bandh” in protest against the three farm laws, among other demands, also coinciding with the completion of four months for the sit-in agitation along the Delhi borders evoked strong response across the State. The protesters came out early in the morning to hold blockades at railway tracks and roads, including State and national highways. The agitating farmers sat on the railway tracks at eleven points across the State affecting the movement of around a hundred trains, a Haryana Railway Police officer said. Women protesters It included the blockades at the railway stations in Sirsa and Bahadurgarh, Fatehgarh in Charkhi Dadri, Jualni village in Jind and Bhiwani-Rohtak railway track at Kaluwas village in Bhiwani. Besides, Hisar, Yamunanagar and Fatehabad were also impacted. In Julani, women sat on the railway tracks in large numbers to stop the traffic. “The farmers, Khaps, workers, traders and government employees came together to make ‘Bharat Bandh’ a success. Besides blockades on the railway tracks, the protesters also sat on the roads at several points in Charkhi Dadri including Loharu Chowk, Badhra, Kadma and Chirya Mor,” said local farmer leader Raju Maan. Director General of Police, Haryana, 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, but mostly the blockades were on the internal roads and the State highways. “It was incident free. The protesters held peaceful demonstrations. The police also had strong presence on the ground,” said Mr. Yadava. ‘Bandh successful’ Haryana All-India Kisan Sabha vice-president Inderjit Singh claimed that the bandh was a “success” and the number of blockades on the roads and railway tracks were many more than the earlier occasions. The farmers holding a sit-in agitation at Palwal blocked the Delhi-Agra highway for around five hours. Farmers also blocked the Delhi-Jaipur highway in Rewari causing traffic snarls.

The Hindu

2021-03-27

GURUGRAM