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How farmers' Bharat Bandh impacted various states

September 27, 2021 21:08 IST

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a forum comprising 40 farmer unions, called for a Bharat Bandh on Monday against the Centre's three agriculture laws.

Here is its impact across the country:

 

IMAGE: Buses parked at Patiala Bus Terminal during Bharat Bandh called by farmers organisations against Centre's farm laws in Patiala, on Monday. Photograph: PTI Photo

About 25 trains have been affected due to the bandh in the country, officials said.

In Delhi, markets remained open and business activities were largely unaffected, though massive traffic snarls were witnessed in border areas due to road blockades by protesters and security checks by police.

IMAGE: Buses parked at a bus terminal during the strike in Amritsar. Photograph: PTI Photo

Security was beefed up along the borders of Ghaziabad and Noida with Delhi while traffic movement on some key routes was hit in the morning due to the bandh.

The bandh hit normal life in Punjab and Haryana as protesters blocked highways and squatted on railway tracks at many places in the two northern states.

IMAGE: Himachal Sanyukt Kisan Sangh activists raise slogans in support of the bandh, in Shimla. Photograph: PTI Photo

Demonstrations and rallies were held across Jammu district in support of the Bharat bandh.

The effect of the bandh was visible in many districts of Rajasthan, including agriculture-dominated Ganganagar and Hanumangarh where the major mandis and markets remained closed, and farmers took out rallies on major roads and held meetings.

IMAGE: A deserted road during the bandh in Meerut. Photograph: PTI Photo

The Bandh failed to evoke any response in Arunachal Pradesh as all services, including public transport, banks and commercial establishments, were operating normally in the frontier state.

Assam remained unaffected as public transport operated as usual, markets were open and offices registered usual attendance. Opposition Congress, which supported the bandh, did not organise any protest in the state.

IMAGE: Police stand guard at a deserted road near Ghazipur border. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Vehicular movement was disrupted in several parts of Jharkhand as supporters of the Bharat bandh blocked roads and highways, and shops were shut in state capital Ranchi, while government offices and banks functioned as usual.

Highways, roads and railway tracks were blocked in several places across Bihar as the bandh evoked a mixed response in the state.

IMAGE: Security personnel at the Ghazipur border in New Delhi. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Left activists blocked roads and railway tracks across West Bengal in support of the bandh, but normal life remained largely unaffected in the state where markets and shops were opened as usual and public transport operated almost normally.

In Odisha, markets were shut and public transport stayed off roads as the bandh hit normal life, with supporters of the shutdown, including members of Congress and Left parties, picketing at important junctions across the state amid rains.

IMAGE: View of closed shops in front of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple during bandh in Thiruvananthapuram. Photograph: PTI Photo

The bandh evoked a mixed response in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh as most of the shops and establishments remained open in major cities of the state.

The bandh call had no major impact in Madhya Pradesh as day-to-day and commercial activities went on as usual in the state.

Gujarat largely remained peaceful, though there were reports of highways being blocked briefly which affected traffic movement, officials said.

IMAGE: Activists of Left parties shout slogans in support of farmer organisations at Andheri West, in Mumbai. Photograph: PTI Photo

Commercial establishments and local transport were operating as usual and normal life remained unaffected across Maharashtra even as various non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties held demonstrations and bike rallies in parts of the state in support of the Bharat bandh.

In the coastal state of Goa, all services, including public transport, banks, trains and commercial establishments, operated normally as the bandh failed to evoke any response.

IMAGE: Farmers block Prayagraj-Kaushambi highway during Bharat bandh in Prayagraj. Photograph: PTI Photo

Puducherry witnessed a mixed response to the day-long bandh as only government-run buses operated on roads with fewer number of passengers and attendance of students in government schools was less than usual.

Ruling Left Democratic Front and opposition United Democratic Front supported-hartal disrupted daily life in Kerala due to closure of shops and non-operation of public transportation, but it was generally peaceful as private means of travel was unaffected, with one solitary incident of violence being reported from Kozhikode district.

IMAGE: Farmers, activists from various Kannada organisations and trade union members raise slogans during their bandh against the farm laws, in Bengaluru. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

In solidarity with the nationwide strike demanding repeal of the Centre's farm laws, farmer bodies, trade unions, including those backed by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Left parties staged protests across Tamil Nadu.

Activists of political parties, including the Congress, Left parties and Telugu Desam Party held protests at various places in Telangana in support of the bandh.

IMAGE: Police personnel remove protesters blocking the road during the bandh in Bengaluru. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

The 'Bharat bandh' did not have any major impact on normal life in Karnataka in the initial few hours, with all business and establishments functioning normally and transport services available.

The bandh evoked a lukewarm response in Andhra Pradesh despite the Yuvajan Shramika Rythu Congress government lending support to it. Only at a few places like Tirupati, Anantapuramu and Kadapa did the opposition parties stage protests against the farm laws.

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