Traffic paralysed in Haryana, Punjab as farmers block roads

Chandigarh: The nationwide 10-hour "Bharat Bandh" on the call given by farmers' unions to press for their demand of scrapping of the three farm laws evoked a massive response in Haryana and Punjab.

Farmers blocked all major roads and highways, squatted on railway tracks bringing all road and rail traffic to a halt.

A majority of business establishments in different towns of the two states kept their shutters closed and they opened their shops only after the shutdown announced by farmers' unions was over.

Emergency services were, however, exempted from the purview of the shutdown.

No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in Haryana and Punjab.

Not only the farmers, but even the farm labourers, commission agents and trade union activists participated in the shutdown and squatted on roads to block vehicular traffic from 6 am to 4 pm.

At many places, farmers parked their tractor trolleys on the highways to block movement of vehicular traffic.

Hundreds of commuters had a tough time as buses, taxis and trains did not ply due to the Bandh.

People were left stranded at railway stations and bus stands in various towns and cities as public transport was off the roads.

State owned buses, private buses and taxis remained off the roads, leaving thousands of people stranded across the two states.

Buses remained parked at bus stands or bus depots, and passengers were left stranded.

In Haryana's Millennium City Gurugram, hundreds of cars were seen moving bumper-to-bumper owing to the checking by Delhi Police.

Most of the roads across the two states, including in joint capital Chandigarh, wore a near-deserted look.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a united forum of farmer unions protesting the three farm laws, on Monday said its call for a Bharat Bandh received an "unprecedented and historic" response from more than 23 states, and not a single untoward incident was reported from anywhere.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi urged the Centre to repeal the three "anti-farmer" laws.

"#IStandWithFarmers & appeal the Union Govt. to repeal the three anti-farmer laws. Our farmers have been struggling for their rights since more than a year & it is high time that their voice is heard. I request the farmers to raise their voice in a peaceful manner," he said in a tweet.

Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the government should talk to the protesting farmers without putting any prior condition.

Speaking to media persons, Hooda said, "All the Opposition parties, including Congress, are supporting farmers call for Bharat Bandh. We are supporting the farmers' demand to repeal three farm laws."

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu said the PPCC firmly stands by the farmer unions' Bharat Bandh call.

"Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee firmly stands by Farmer Unions demand for Bharat Bandh on 27 Sept 2021. In the war of right and wrong you cannot afford to be neutral!! We urge every Congress worker to fight with all their might against the three Unconstitutional Black Laws!!" he tweeted.

Meanwhile, the Haryana government claimed that the Bharat Bandh call given by farmers' organizations against the three farm laws passed off peacefully in the state.

A Haryana Police spokesperson said that impact of the Bharat Bandh was largely seen in the form of road/rail blocks and hampered the intercity road and rail traffic movement, but did not have much impact on the activities within towns and cities.

The bandh call did not have any impact in districts Gurugram, Faridabad, Narnaul, Rewari and Nuh in the state, claimed the spokesperson.

No violent incident was reported in the state, he added.