CHANDIGARH, Dec 30: Life was hit across Punjab due to a ‘bandh’ imposed by farmers who have been agitating against the Centre for a legal guarantee of a minimum support price for their crops.
Rail and road traffic was crippled and commercial establishments remained shut in several places of the state.
Farmers staged ‘dharnas’ on several roads and highways including in Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Pathankot as part of their bandh call from 7 am to 4 pm, throwing commuter traffic out of gear.
A call for a statewide shutdown was given over a week ago by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha over the Centre not acting on the farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee for the MSP.
The bandh was also enforced to express solidarity with farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal who has been on a fast for the last 35 days at Khanauri border protest site of farmers.
Farmers observed a sit-in at Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza which affected vehicular movement on the Patiala-Chandigarh National Highway.
At Amritsar’s Golden Gate, scores of farmers staged a dharna near the city’s entry point. Police there assisted some stranded foreign tourists by arranging auto rickshaws for them to reach the Golden Temple.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher told reporters in Amritsar that emergency and other essential services were allowed to operate.
He said anyone travelling to the airport to catch a flight anyone going to attend a job interview, or anyone needing to attend a wedding, was being allowed to go.
In some places, commuters were seen arguing with the protesting farmers blocking the roads.
“All establishments are closed. Punjabis have shown their unity today and they are extending full support,” Pandher, however, claimed.
“We are seeing a successful bandh. Train services are also completely suspended and no train is entering Punjab,” he said.
Pandher also claimed their strike has received strong support from transporters, employee unions, traders and religious bodies.
Farmers squatted on tracks at many places, forcing the railways to cancel several trains passing through the state and short-terminated or short-originated some trains.
In Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Bathinda, passengers were seen stranded at stations.
A cancer patient from Gujarat was stranded at a train station in Ferozepur. His wife said they had to go to Himachal Pradesh to get some medicines for him, but with train services hit, they were left in a lurch.
In Phagwara, farmers staged a dharna near the Sugarmill Crossing on NH-44, blocking the roads leading from Phagwara towards Nakodar, Hoshiarpur, and Nawanshahr.
A dharna was also staged at Behram toll plaza on Phagwara-Banga road.
Grain markets were shut in several places across the state.
In the Mohali district, farmers staged a dharna at a few points throwing normal movement of vehicular traffic out of gear.
Public transport remained off roads at several places, while most private bus operators suspended services abiding by the bandh call.
Many long-distance private buses and trucks carrying fruits and vegetables were held up due to the bandh.
In the Ludhiana district, markets like Chaura Bazar, Saban Bazar, Vishwakarma Chowk, Gill Road and Sarabha Nagar had few shops open. The city’s main bus stand was completely bereft of any traffic.
Farmers picketed 17 places in the Ludhiana district. National Highway-Khanna, Main Samrala Chowk and Ghulal Toll Plaza on Ludhiana-Samrala road were some of these places.
In Bathinda, all but a few chemist shops were found shut.
Roads from the district leading to Amritsar, Sri Ganganagar, and Muktsar were blocked by BKU Sidhupur activists, whose leader Ram Singh Deon, addressing the farmers, said, “This is a fight for our crops and for our future generations.”
Kapurthala and Jalandhar also observed the bandh with all commercial establishments there remaining closed.
Streets in many places were clear of carts- and rickshaw-pullers. Banks, though open, were empty.
Langars of tea and ‘daal-parshada’ were arranged for the protesters.
The bandh’s impact was also seen in some neighbouring areas of the state, including Ambala.
Hundreds of daily commuters travelling from Ambala to Chandigarh, Mohali, Patiala and other nearby cities of Punjab were thrown off stride because of the shutdown.
Buses took alternate routes to go from Ambala to Chandigarh as they had to cross a stretch of the national highway that passes through Punjab.
Sangeeta, who commutes every day from Ambala to Zirakpur for work, waited for a bus in Ambala Cantt in Haryana but found all of them “too crowded.”
Many outsiders studying in coaching centres in Chandigarh faced a tough time reaching their destinations.
Farmers, under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.
A “jatha” (group) of 101 farmers attempted to march to Delhi on foot three times between December 6 and 14 but were stopped by security personnel from Haryana.
Besides the MSP, farmers are also demanding a debt waiver, pension, no hike in electricity tariffs, withdrawal of police cases, and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. (Agencies)
