Farmers Movement Archive

Complete shutdown brings life to standstill in Punjab’s Majha region

The Bharat Bandh call given by farm unions to protest the Centre’s three farm laws led to a complete shutdown in Punjab’s Majha region of Amritsar and adjoining border districts on Friday. All commercial outlets, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) head office, most government offices and banks were closed. Roads in Amritsar wore a deserted look. With the support from people of different walks of life, farmers owing allegiance to organisations such as the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) blocked roads and staged protests at key points in the town. KMSC activists laid a siege to the rail track near Valla village on the Amritsar-Delhi rail route. They staged a protest at Golden Gate, the main entrance to the holy city. Barring emergency services, no one was allowed to travel on roads. Contradicting the leaders’ announcement that pilgrims going to participate in Hola Mohalla at Sri Anandpur Sahib will not be restricted, the farmers stopped their vehicles too, causing inconvenience. A complete bandh was observed in neighbouring Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur districts. Farmers held demonstrations at chowks in Batala town, demanding the farm laws be repealed by the government. The bandh call affected normal life in Pathankot district, which is considered a stronghold of the BJP, which leads the NDA coalition at the Centre.

Hindustan Times

26-03-2021

Chandigarh