Bharat Bandh partial, traffic hit in Punjab, Haryana areas
Neeraj Mohan
New Delhi, February 16
The day-long “Gramin Bharat Bandh” organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) along with central trade unions evoked a lukewarm response outside the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Despite announcements of support from various farmer and transport associations across the country, the impact of the strike remained limited to rural areas in the North.
Disruptions were particularly notable in transportation across the National Capital Region, causing inconvenience to commuters in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi as state roadways buses stayed off the road. Markets and commercial establishments in rural and semi-urban areas were also affected.
BKU to take call at mahapanchayat
- All eyes on mahapanchayat called by BKU (Tikait) at Muzaffarnagar on Saturday
- BKU leaders to take a call on support to the ongoing agitation by Punjab farmers
Educational institutes open
- In Haryana, the bandh evoked a mixed response. Transport services were hit with a substantial number of buses remaining off the road. Shops and educational institutions functioned normally while the working of certain government offices was affected adversely.
Gurdaspur, tarn taran hit hard
- In Punjab, traffic was hit due to the bandh, which evoked a mixed response in towns. In Amritsar, schools and colleges saw poor attendance. Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran witnessed a complete bandh. In Patiala, passengers had a harrowing time as buses remained off the road.
In Uttar Pradesh, pockets such as Ghaziabad, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar witnessed an industrial strike and demonstrations in solidarity with the bandh, resulting in closures of shops and affecting transportation.
BKU (Tikait) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who participated in a protest at the Bagowali intersection on the Delhi-Dehradun national highway, said they were protesting in support of their pending demands, including implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report and loan waiver.
As per reports from Jammu and Kashmir, the police detained 50 trade union leaders and activists planning to protest at Lal Chowk in support of the farmers’ demands.
The strike failed to garner significant response in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, with districts such as Bhopal, Jabalpur, Katni and Damoh remaining unaffected.
In Bihar, organisations affiliated with leftist parties staged processions and road blockades in Samastipur, disrupting traffic. Meanwhile, states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala remained unaffected by the bandh.
