Farmers Movement Archive

Bharat Bandh: All western UP cities witness protests, highways blocked briefly

MEERUT/AGRA/PILIBHIT/RUDRAPUR: All the cities of western Uttar Pradesh and those in the plains of Uttarakhand witnessed protests on Friday as farmers squatted on state and national highways for a few hours and raised slogans against the Centre for bringing three agriculture laws. Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had given a nation-wide ‘Bharat Bandh’ call which evoked good response in Punjab and Haryana, and a mixed one in UP and Uttarakhand. In Muzaffarnagar -- the headquarters of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) -- farmers blocked several roads, including the one connecting Delhi to Dehradun, for over two hours before dispersing. Even as they blocked the highways, the protesters allowed vehicles carrying essential items to pass. Meerut and Baghpat also saw protests at various crossings. Traffic was disrupted on Delhi-Yamunotri Highway in Baghpat when farmers placed tractor trolleys in the middle of the road. The blockade was cleared by 3pm. In Bijnor, farmers blocked entry points to the city at Ganga barrage and at a few more places in the district. Talking to TOI over phone from Ghazipur border, spokesperson of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, Jagtar Singh Bajwa, said that the movement will go on. “On March 28, we will burn the copies of farm laws all across the country on occasion of Holi.” State general secretary of BKU, Thakur Ram Avtar Singh, said in Bijnor, “We are sitting here against the three agriculture laws and non-consideration of our demand on formation of a law on minimum support price (MSP). We also demand immediate withdrawal of cases filed against the farmers.” BKU president Naresh Tikait had announced just a three-hour road blockade in the region to ensure that people don’t face inconvenience. While in Punjab and Haryana, the blockade was for the entire day. “It causes a lot of problems to travellers and we did not want that. The main aim was to make our voices heard, and that is being done. A three-hour ‘bandh’ is enough for that," Tikait has said. The protesters also tried to block the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura. They were stopped by police at Raya crossing, Mathura. Later, the farmers staged a protest on Raya-Hathras road underpass of the e-way and blocked the traffic. Heavy police force was deployed along the expressway to prevent farmers from blocking it. BKU’s state vice president, Buddha Singh, who led the protest in Mathura, said, “We allowed passage to all emergency vehicles while staging the protest. We understand the problems of people, but this government is not ready to listen to us.” In Aligarh, farmers blocked Aligarh-Palwal road. While in Pilibhit, protesters blocked the Pilibhit-Basti national highway for two hours. In Uttarakhand’s Terai region, the ‘bandh’ call evoked a mixed response. In the towns of Udham Singh Nagar district, markets were shut till 1pm. Markets in Bazpur, Kashipur, Nanakmatta, Gadarpur and Sitarganj towns were shut till afternoon and protests were held. The grain markets, however, remained closed throughout the day. The farmers also took out a protest march. President of Terai Kisan Mahasabha, Tejender Singh Virk, said, “People from all walks of life have supported the call. They have extended unconditional support to the ongoing farmers’ movement at various Delhi borders.” (With inputs from Sandeep Rai, Anuja Jaiswal, Keshav Agrawal & Aakash Ahuja)

The Times of India

2021-03-27

Meerut