India, September 25: After the Bharatiya Kisan Union and other organisations held several protests by farmers against the farm legislation passed earlier this week, a nationwide demonstration and “chakkajam” began on Friday.
The officials mentioned how police personnel inadequate strength were deployed across Punjab and Haryana to ensure law and order.
Punjab: As many as 31 farmer organisations joined the call for a complete shutdown in Punjab. Some of them gathered across several areas to disrupt vehicular movement while the others held protest marches. On Thursday, farmer unions began a three-day ‘rail roko’ protest at six different locations in the state with 1,000 to 1,500 farmers sitting on the tracks at each protest site. Farmer groups in Haryana have urged residents to observe a bandh from 10 am to 4 pm on Friday. Only the National Highways have been exempted from the bandh call.
The “Punjab bandh” call is getting support from government employees’ unions, singers, commission agents, labourers and social activists. Shops, commercial establishments and vegetable markets at many places remained shut. Shopkeepers have been appealed to keep their shops shut in support of farmers. Farmers on Thursday had started a three-day stir against the Bills and squatted on tracks in parts of the state. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said the state government was with them in the fight against the Bills and no FIR will be registered for the violation of Section 144 of the CrPC, which bars assembly of more than four people at a place. As many as 31 farmers’ organisations came together for a complete shutdown of the state.
Delhi-Noida border: As many as 150-200 farmers arrived at the Noida Gate in Sector 14A near Chilla, at the UP-Delhi border, where they were stopped by the police to ensure law and order.
West Bengal: TMC protested against the bill in front of Gandhi statue mayo road in Kolkata. Left party farmers’ bodies like ‘Sara Bharat Krishak Saba‘ under CPI(M) and those of other left parties like CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP led protests in various parts of West Bengal demanding the withdrawal of the “anti-people” farm bills passed in the Parliament. They took out rallies in the districts and blocked roads for some time. Participants in the processions at some places carried vegetables and agricultural produce and shouted slogans against Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar.
South India: In Tamil Nadu, farmers from National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers’ Association sat outside Collector’s office in Trichy protested with human skulls, chained hands and nooses around their necks today.
Farmers in Karnataka also protested against the ‘anti-farmer policies of the central and state governments today. A large number of riots from various parts of the state arrived at the capital to take part in the demonstrations and register their protest against the amendments to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act and the Karnataka La Reforms Act. A group of farmers also blocked the busy Tumakuru road near Yeshwanthpur in the city. The farmers were later taken away by the cops in buses.
The left party-affiliated farmer’s unions staged protests in Hyderabad.
