Farmers block rail, roads during ‘Bharat bandh’ against Farm Bills

Protests rocked several parts of the country, mostly in the non-BJP ruled status , as farmers and political parties took to the streets to oppose the three agricultural marketing bills passed by the Parliament earlier this week.

Farmers in several parts of the country raised slogans, took out processions, and blocked roads and railway lines as part of the Bharat bandh call given by a number of unions to voice dissent against the Bills perceived as “anti-farmer”.

In Punjab, the day-long protests by farmers evoked a huge response and normal life was disrupted.

A three-day ‘rail roko’ that began on Thursday is underway in Punjab as well, with farmers squatting on the tracks at many places and the Railways suspending trains.

In Haryana, farmers blocked the Karnal-Meerut, Rohtak-Jhajjar and Delhi-Hisar and other roads.

Hundreds of farmers were also stopped at Delhi’s border with Uttar Pradesh as they tried to press ahead into the national capital, their agitation disrupting traffic in Noida and Ghaziabad.

In Chhattisgarh, farmers staged demonstrations outside their houses and fields in various villages and towns.

In Maharashtra, the agitation found support of the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, All India Kisan Sabha, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, major farmers’ organisations, national and state-level trade unions and student unions, who led the protesters in Mumbai, Thane, Jalna, Nanded and Kolhapur among other districts.