Farmers Movement Archive

Markets shut, trade suspended: Bharat Bandh evokes good response in Ludhiana

The ‘Bharat Bandh’ call given by the farmers’ unions evoked ‘good’ response in the city with most of the market associations keeping the businesses closed on Friday. Roads and bazaars, which usually remain crowded during the day, wore a deserted look with farmers blocking highways and main chowks at different points, including Ludhiana Ferozepur highway, Jalandhar-Panipat Highway (NH-44), Bharat Nagar chowk, Samrala chowk, Dugri chowk, and Jalandhar bypass among others. Markets in Model Town, Dugri, Ghumar Mandi, BRS Nagar, and Pink Plaza among others stayed closed till 6pm with shopkeepers extending support to the farmers’ agitation. Various malls in the city also followed suit. President of Model Town Market association, Amarjit Singh, said, “We stand with the farmers in their fight against the three farm laws. They are struggling for their survival and our market association has decided to keep the shops shut till 6pm.”Shopkeepers said they were also facing a tough time due to the restrictions imposed by the government amid continuous spike being witnessed in Covid-19 cases, but the “economy of the state will be completely destroyed by these farm laws”.Similarly, President of Pink Plaza market association, Rubal, said, “We decided to keep the shops shut to show solidarity with the farmers, whom we are supporting in their fight against the injustice being meted out by the Union government.” Commuters, however, faced a harrowing time due to the roadblocks and even police had created diversions at different junctions. The commuters rued that the public should not be harassed by the protesters by blocking all the major roads of the city. Sukhpreet Singh, one of the residents of Dugri area, who was stuck at the canal bridge (southern bypass) on Ferozepur Road, said, “I have to reach civil hospital to meet my relatives, but the protesters have blocked the Ferozepur Road due to which cops are not allowing entry. The police asked me to take the diversion, but it will take much more time than usual to reach the hospital. The farmers should not harass the public during their protests.” Shopkeepers ‘forced’ to down shuttersIncidents were reported from few markets of the city, including Chaura Bazar, Mata Rani Chowk, Books market, and Mall Road, where the protesting farmers allegedly forced shopkeepers to close their shops to strengthen the agitation. The shopkeepers rued that the farmers had announced that they will not force them to shut the shops down. Sonu Nilibar from Ludhiana Cloth Merchants’ Association said, “We are supporting the farmers in their fight against the farm laws, but they should not harass shopkeepers by forcing them to shut down the shops. I had kept my shop closed to express support to farmers, but few other shop owners on Mall Road were forced to closed.” ‘Industry suffers losses worth ₹500 crore’The Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisation (FICO) stated that the industry suffered losses to the tune of ₹500 crore due to the bandh on Friday. The members of the association had urged the Union government to resolve the matter at the earliest in the anticipation of huge losses. FICO president Gurmet Kular said, “Our economy depends on the farming sector and our economy will survive only by supporting the farmers and not by destroying the farming sector. The government should take note of the problem and resolve the issue at the earliest.”

Hindustan Times

27-03-2021

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