Bharat Bandh: Updates from around the country

Farmer unions called for a Bharat Bandh to protest against the Centres agri laws. Here are all the Bandh related details

A farmer holds a placard during a nationwide general strike to protest against the recent agricultural reforms at the Delhi-Haryana state border in Singhu . Pic/AFP

Amid efforts to resolve the farmers' agitation for several days, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Delhi on Tuesday at Tomar's 3, Krishna Menon Marg residence.

The two leaders are believed to have discussed the issues of the agitating farmers of Punjab and Haryana. The meeting between the Haryana Chief Minister and Union Agriculture Minister is being perceived as very important coming as it does just hours before the sixth round of talks with the farmers scheduled for December 9.

Early reports of the Bandh from across the country indicated mixed response to the 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the farmer unions on Tuesday as no major disturbance was reported from anywhere.

The shutdown -- from 11 am to 3 p.m. -- focuses primarily on "chakka jaam" (no vehicular movement). However, its effect on the movement of vehicles is yet to be observed.

The call was, however, supported by several Opposition political parties and trade unions. The morning peak-hour traffic movement was by and large normal across major cities in the country except for a few states.

Partial 'Bharat Bandh' impact was seen in vegetable 'mandis' in the national capital and various others states but commercial establishments, particularly in cities and towns, are likely to be not affected as the retailers' organisations have kept off the shutdown.

There was some impact of the 'Bandh' call in interstate bus services and the passengers reached railway stations a bit early in the wake of the nationwide protest.

State and city borders were open, and public vehicles like auto-rickshaw, taxis, aggregator cabs, a few heavy vehicles carrying essential items were witnessed moving on roads.

Wholesale markets, retail vegetable markets and local vendors were functioning partially in many states.

Cold response was seen in Tamil Nadu while there was growing solidarity for the farmers cause in Odisha and Telangana. In Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party workers stopped Bundelkhand Express at Prayagraj, leading to a scuffle with the police as the party workers squatted on the railway track. Very few vehicles were seen on roads in Bihar in morning as the Mahagathbandhan led by Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav is spearheading the support to the Bharat Bandh.

Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday alleged that Delhi Police has put Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal under house arrest after he met protesting farmers at the Singhu border. His house has been barricaded with no one allowed to enter or leave it. The Delhi police refuted claims.

Also Read: CM Arvind Kejriwal Placed Under House Arrest By Delhi Police: AAP

"It has been claimed in certain sections of social media and otherwise that there is some restriction on the movement of Chief Minister of Delhi, I would like to clarify in this regard that these claims are totally baseless and unfounded. There's absolutely no restriction whatsoever. The Honourable CM has been meeting his usual engagements and has been moving out of his residence. There's adequate security in the area to maintain peace and to prevent any untoward incident," said Satish Golcha Special CP, Delhi Police

Regarding the bandh today, the Special CP said, "The situation in the national capital territory of Delhi is peaceful and the situation is absolutely under control. The markets are open and there is a normal movement of the public on the roads. Traffic is usual. There are usual activities at the offices of political parties." "Delhi Police will intervene in case of apprehension of breach of peace or any effort is made to block the movement of any critical leader or any person."

Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers rallied at ITO on Tuesday against the ‘house arrest' of Kejriwal.

As AAP activists, including a number of party MLAs, held a dharna at one of Delhi's busiest intersections to voice their demand to march to Kejriwal's residence to meet him, vehicular movement was severely hampered in the area. Police had to divert traffic on alternate routes.

The Bandh received a mixed response in the national capital with most of the businesses and transport services remaining normal in Delhi.

However, there was police deployment outside the residence of some CPI (M) members like Subhashini Ali, who is the CPI(M) politburo member and a former MP.

Support for the Bandh also came from Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of CPI (M).

A heavy police deployment was made at the wholesale vegetable and grain market to prevent pro-Bandh activists from forcing closure of shops.

At Azadpur Mandi, one of the Asia's largest vegetable market the response was lukewarm.

Some shops opened while others anticipating less merchandise reaching the wholesale bazaar. Ghazipur and Okhla Mandi also witnessed mixed response, leading up to the shutdown called for four hours with very few people arriving at these mandis.

The usually crowded Ghazipur vegetable market also wore a deserted look as not many shops were open.

The farmers continued to block the Delhi-Meerut National Highway 24 near Ghazipur as large contingents of the police and the paramilitary force guarded all borders around the national capital.

However, in the city, life seemed to be normal with vehicles plying and roadside shops doing business as usual. E-rickshaws also continued to ply.

Officials at Sarai Kale Khan inter-state bus terminus said that the buses are running as usual and no hindrance has been reported so far. They also said that the service would continue despite the call of Chakka Jaam between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The bus terminus though wore a deserted look compared to other days. Employees here said that the situation was normal.

Traffic was normal at Karnal bypass, the road that leads to Delhi-Haryana's Singhu Border, where the farmers have been protesting for the last 13 days against the new agricultural laws of the Central government.

In the wake of bandh, many passengers who wanted to travel to Chandigarh were seen waiting for vehicles on the Karnal highway.

Gujarat

Congress legislator Jashubhai Patel and his supporters were detained by police in Aravalli district of Gujarat on Tuesday for flouting prohibitory orders ahead of the Bharat Bandh call, following which they chanted 'Ram Dhun' in police lock-up.

The Bayad MLA and around two dozen supporters were detained in the Malpur town police station lock-up under Section 144 of the CrPC imposed across Gujarat due to the December 8 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmers agitating in Delhi.

In the lock-up, they began singing the popular devotional song in praise of Lord Ram, amusing the policemen deployed there.

Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia had announced the prohibitory orders on Monday night as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, many state Congress leaders were also detained across the state.

Bihar

Very few vehicles were seen on roads in state capital Patna on Tuesday morning as the Mahagathbandhan led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav is spearheading the support to the 'Bharat Bandh' here.

The RJD has appealed to his supporters to come out on the streets and support the farmers' protesting against the three central farm laws.

Protests in support of Bharat Bandh in Khagaria, Bihar

The farmers' agitation is expected to be successful across the state, especially in Maoist-hit district like Arwal, Jahanabad, Aurangabad, Kaimur, Lakhisarai, Jamui, and Begusarai.

These districts are dominated by the Left parties, especially CPI-MLL along with north Bihar districts like Vaishali, Chapra, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Samastipur, Madhubani, Seetamarhi, and Supaul which are RJD strongholds.

The shutdown is also expected to be successful in Seemanchal districts like Purnea, Araria, Kishanganj, and Katihar etc.

Most people in Patna preferred to stay indoors, stepping out only for important chores.

Madhya Pradesh

There has been an increase in the deployment of police in the mandis (markets) of Madhya Pradesh with a strict vigil on people coming from outside.

The Congress has called for a major protest in Indore with a large number of leaders from the party taking to the streets. However, this bandh has not received the support from traders. Former Congress cabinet minister Sajjan Singh Verma has demanded that traders support the movement and realise that when farmers are affected, their businesses will also get affected. Keeping in view the protest march by the Congress, police personnel have been heavily deployed in the Anaj mandi and Chawni mandi areas of Sanyogitaganj in Indore.

Similarly, in other parts of the state, mandis functioned just like normal days during the morning hours. At the same time, there was no impact on the lives of traders selling their produce in mandis. Conditions are normal at places such as Gwalior, Ujjain, Jabalpur, Sagar etc.

Uttar Pradesh

A mixed response was also witnessed in the state in the early hours while the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has said they will hold demonstrations at 65 points in Lucknow on Tuesday afternoon in support of the Bharat Bandh call.

Most of the places are the entry points to the state capital. They include Dewa Sharief, IIM road, Dubagga, Shaheed Path, Gosainganj, Mohanlalganj, Rahimabad, Bakshi Ka Talab, Nigoha, Behta and Vrindavan scheme.

Telangana

Buses of state-owned Road Transport Corporation in Telangana went off road amid growing support for farmers groups-called Bharat Bandh that received support from all parties in the state except the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With employee unions of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) backing the shutdown call, buses were confined to depots.

Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station and Jubilee Bus Station, two of the biggest and busiest bus stations in Hyderabad, wore a deserted look. Some commuters who reached the bus stations early morning to board buses to their destinations were seen returning disappointed.

Most of the cabs and auto-rickshaws also went off the roads as the unions of taxi and auto drivers backed the Bharat Bandh in support of the demand by farmers' groups asking for rollback of the new farm legislations by the Central government.

With the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) declaring total support to the bandh, it is likely to evoke good response across the state.

Opposition Congress, Left and other parties, farmers' and people's organisations and trade unions are also backing the protest.

Ministers, MPs, state legislators and other public representatives will be participating in protests across the state. Chief Minister and TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao has appealed to party cadres to make the bandh a total success.

West Bengal

The Bharat Bandh called received partial response in West Bengal too with protesters burning the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some business honchos on road here.

The protesters staged a road blockade near Lake Town and Bangur virtually choking the key arterial stretch that connects Shyambazar through Dum Dum. West Bengal's Left Front-backed organisations also gathered at Kolkata's Jadavpur 8-B bus stand area supporting the shutdown call on Tuesday. They will take out a rally extending support to the shutdown call.

Tram and bus services were also disrupted in Kolkata's College Street area as agitators staged protests on Tuesday morning. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) youth arm members also demonstrated at Esplanade area in support of the shutdown.

West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress has extend "moral support" to the nationwide strike and in solidarity will stage sit-ins in various parts of the state for the next three days.

Karnataka

Normal life was affected in parts of Karnataka as farmers and workers hit the roads on Tuesday as part of nation-wide Bharat bandh called by various unions and political parties protesting the farm and labour laws recently introduced by the Centre.

Many organisations in the state have come in support of the bandh called by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene (Green Brigade) against the agri laws passed by the central government allowing anyone from any part of the country to purchase the agriculture produce.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa termed the strike as a ''failure''. In the state, the farmers are also protesting the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act allowing anyone to purchase agriculture land directly from the farmers. Earlier, people from the agriculture background were allowed to purchase farmland. The protesters alleged that these laws would lead to hoarding and turning the agriculture industry into a real estate sector.

Many trade unions too have joined hands with the farmers to protest the reforms in labour laws, claiming that it was against their interest. Besides the Indian National Congress, left parties such as CPI, CPI(M) and their allied organisations too have extended their support to the stir. Some pro-Kannada organisations such as Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha of Vatal Nagaraj too backed the shutdown.

Odisha

Roads wore a deserted look in several parts of Odisha as the farmers supported by different political parties and trade unions on Tuesday began holding protests as part of Bharat Bandh against new farm laws enacted by the Centre.

Public transportation services were affected as the protesters held picketing at the railway stations and bus stops in Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Rayagada, and several other places.

Vehicular movement on many routes disrupted with agitators blocking them by burning tyres.

The farmers and political activists also resorted to "rail roko", affecting the train movement in the state.

Tamil Nadu

Carnatic vocalist, activist and 2016 Ramon Magsaysay award winner TM Krishna tweeted in solidarity with farmers.

Normal life was not affected here and in other parts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday with state transport buses plying, hotels and shops remaining open despite the Bharat Bandh call given by farmers and supported by opposition parties.

Similarly, government-owned banks and insurance companies will be working as usual though the unions have extended support to the farmer's bandh call. Opposition parties affiliated auto rickshaw unions have announced that they would be participating in the shutdown.

Northeast

Banking operations across the northeastern region were partially hit as a section of bank employees joined the countrywide shutdown while another section joined their duties.

According to the officials, train and flight services in most northeastern states remained unaffected by the nationwide strike.

An official of the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) said in Guwahati the train services were unaffected in its jurisdictions though some picketers in a few places tried to halt the plying of passenger trains, but the security forces dispersed them.

The NFR operates fully and partially in six of the eight northeastern states, excluding Meghalaya and Sikkim, and in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of north Bihar.

In Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Assam, markets, shops and business establishments were open in some places and closed in many parts, especially in the semi-urban and rural areas.

There were very few passenger vehicles on the roads. But many government offices functioned almost normally and schools and other educational institutions also remained open, though with very less attendance.

(with inputs from agencies)

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