Normal life disrupted in several parts of country, but many parts were unaffected; transport industry incurs Rs 2K cr loss
The Bharat Bandh observed by farmer unions and supported by 22 political parties and a number of trade unions on Tuesday evoked a mixed response. The wholesale and retail mandis remained closed in several States even as several shops, commercial establishments, industrial houses, shopping malls kept their shutters open.
All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), representing about 95 lakh truckers and other entities, had announced to suspend operations in the country to support the Bharat Bandh called by agitating farmers. The AIMTC said the support to the farmers’ Bharat Bandh call was successful, and the transport industry incurred a loss of Rs 2,000 crore on account of halting operations.
“The transport fraternity support to farmers has been highly successful…About 90 lakh trucks, tempo, trailers stood still on the call of AIMTC and the transport industry too bore losses of about Rs 2,000 crore,” AIMTC president Kultarn Singh Atwal said. AIMTC in a statement said it will continue to extend support to farmers.
“The support by the transport fraternity to the Bharat Bandh call by farmers is successful, peaceful and voluntary,” AIMTC secretary general Naveen Gupta said.
Normal life was disrupted in several parts of the country especially in the Opposition-ruled States. Shops and commercial establishments stayed closed, transport service was affected and protesters squatted on key roads and rail tracks during the bandh. However, in many parts of the country, the normal life remained unaffected.
The bandh has been largely peaceful except in Jaipur where the BJP Yuva Morcha workers and the Congress workers clashed while holding a protest while in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district, police used water cannons to disperse agitators who were led by a Congress leader. Incidents of arson have been reported from Rajkot and Sabarkantha and Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets in parts of Gujarat.
Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav has claimed the bandh was observed at 10,000 places in 25 States across the country.
Farmers blocked national highways and other key roads at many places in Punjab and Haryana as part of their nationwide protest to press for repeal of the farm laws. Shops and commercial establishments remained closed at most places in Punjab and several places in Haryana as traders backed the agitating farmers.
Public and private transport services remained shut in Punjab. In neighbouring Haryana, inter-State and intra-State bus services were disrupted. Petroleum dealers in the twin States kept filling stations closed to support the Bharat Bandh called by the farmer unions.
Agitating farmers blocked several key roads, including Chandigarh-Delhi, Amritsar-Delhi, Hisar-Delhi and Bhiwani-Delhi national highways. They parked tractors, trucks and other vehicles in the middle of the carriageways.
Carrying placards, the protesters squatted on key roads and raised slogans against the BJP-led Government at the Centre.
There were sit-ins at toll plazas in several places. The road blockades led to inconvenience to commuters across both States, including Chandigarh. Over 50,000 Government employees in the State have taken mass casual leave in support of farmers, claimed Punjab Civil Secretariat Staff Association president Sukhchain Khaira.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, an apex gurdwara body, has also announced to keep its offices and institutions closed.
In Haryana, police had issued a travel advisory stating that people might face traffic blockades on various roads and highways of the State.
Haryana Roadways officials said their services were hit by the blockades. In Ambala, the wholesale cloth market, Sarafa market and the grain market were closed even as some others were open. Shops at many places in Rohtak, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Bhiwani and Hisar districts also remained closed.
In Uttar Pradesh, there was no impact on bandh as shops and commercial establishments were opened. Roadways buses, trucks and mini buses were seen plying on the roads as well as auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws while the Samajwadi Party (SP) held protests in a number of districts and even holding up a train in Allahabad.
SP leaders sat on a silent protest near the statue of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh at the Vidhan Bhavan in Lucknow in support of the bandh. SP MLCs Rajpal Kashyap, Sunil Singh Sajan, Anand Bhadauria and Ashu Malik were part of it.
In Bihar, railway tracks, highways and roads across the State were teeming with supporters of the Bharat Bandh, which affected normal life. RJD supporters, and workers of Pappu Yadav’s Jan Adhikar Party fanned out to various parts of Patna, forcing shopkeepers to down their shutters and deflating tyres of vehicles plying on the roads. In Jehanabad, the movement of Patna-Palamu Express was obstructed for a few minutes until the bandh supporters, squatting on the tracks, were chased away by the police. Burning tyres were placed on National Highway 110 and 83, resulting in the disruption of traffic, leading to long queues of vehicles. The Opposition parties supporters in Patna blocked the Dak Bungalow Chowk intersection leading to disruption of traffic.
In Maharashtra, Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) remained closed in many parts in support of the Bharat Bandh. The wholesale markets in major cities like Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Aurangabad remained shut. Retail shops also downed shutters in many cities. Except mandis, there was no impact of bandh in the States as buses and transports were continued to ply. All business establishments and Government offices were opened in the States.
In Chhattisgarh major cities including capital Raipur, wore a deserted look with most of the business establishments remained closed.
The Chhattisgarh Chamber of Commerce and Industries has decided to keep businesses and shops shut.
Supporters of the Congress and Left parties blocked railway tracks at several places, and held sit-ins on roads to enforce the nationwide shutdown, which evoked a mixed response in West Bengal.
In Kolkata, CPI(M) activists along with SFI and DYFI members blocked roads in Lake Town, College Street, Jadavpur and Shyambazar Five-Point Crossing.
In Gujarat protesters blocked three highways in rural areas by placing burning tyres on roads affecting vehicular traffic for some time. A highway connecting Ahmedabad to Viramgam was blocked near Sanand by protesters from the Congress party who placed burning tyres on roads, causing a traffic jam. Another group of protesters blocked a national highway in Vadodara. In another incident, a highway connecting Bharuch and Dahej in Bharuch district was similarly blocked near Nandelav by protesters. Police detained protesters in Ahmedabad and brought the situation under control.
Wednesday, 09 December 2020 | Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi
