Normal life hit across Punjab due to farmers’ 9-hour bandh

Chandigarh: Normal life was hit across Punjab on Monday due to a nine-hour ‘bandh’ called by farmers protesting against the Centre for their various demands including a legal guarantee of a minimum support price for their crops.

Rail operations in Punjab were mostly suspended, buses and other vehicles remained off the road, leaving passengers stranded; and shops and establishments downed shutters as the 7 am-4 pm bandh passed off peacefully. Petrol pumps were also shut, a senior farmer leader said.

Farmer leaders who gave the bandh call more than a week ago declared it “successful” and thanked the “three crore Punjabis for extending their full support”.

Amid a harsh winter chill and dense fog at some places, farmers staged ‘dharnas’ on several roads and highways including in Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Pathankot, crippling the traffic.

The sit-in at the Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza 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. At some places, commuters were seen arguing with the protesting farmers blocking the roads.

The call for the statewide shutdown was given by the 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 in support of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal (70) who has been on a fast-unto-death at Khanauri border protest site over the non-fulfilment of the demands. His health has deteriorated during the fast which has completed 35 days.

After the bandh, Dallewal thanked the people of Punjab for supporting and making the Bandh a “success”. In a video message, he said the Centre should pay attention to their demands.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher told reporters in Amritsar that emergency and other essential services were allowed to operate. He said those going to airport or for a job interview or a wedding were allowed to go.

“Punjabiyat has won. On behalf of both the forums (spearheading protests at Shambhu and Khanauri), I want to thank three crore Punjabis for extending their full support to the bandh,” Pandher said after the bandh hours.