THE bandh call given on December 8, by over 500 kisan unions who are on agitation and then supported by over 24 political parties, was highly successful given by the participation of the people and the impact it had on the ground. From Tripura in the east to Rajasthan in the west and from Jammu & Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south in more than 600 districts of the country the farmers, workers and other sections of the society participated in this ‘farmers bandh’.
The bandh call was given against the three agri-laws passed recently by the BJP government despite stiff opposition from the kisans and the opposition and against the proposed amendments in the Electricity Act.
The action of the central government for foiling the bandh began a day before. In Uttar Pradesh, many leaders of the opposition were either arrested or put under house arrest. Despite that, the people came out on the streets and protested. Most of the mandis remained shut in most of the states; in a few there was complete strike where even the shopkeepers’ associations supported the bandh call. The transport remained off the road and there was hardly any movement of the freight on the road.
According to a report in the media there were more than 20,000 protest sites across 22 states in which nearly 50 lakh people protested in the country; this explodes the myth propagated by the ruling BJP that the protest against the farm laws is mainly concentrated in two states-Punjab and Haryana.
In Maharashtra, the bandh started early in the morning where chakka jam was organised by the agitating kisan unions in Ahmednagar, Nandurbar, Sangli, Amravati, Beed, Nashik, Thane, Palghar and Aurangabad. In Solapur, police lathi-charged hundreds of CPI(M) and CITU activists and slapped cases on them. The APMC mandis throughout the state remained shut and the Navi Mumbai mandi considered as Asia’s largest anaj mandi was closed. The farmers of a few villages in Jalna district in Maharashtra distributed milk free to the residents while refusing to sell it or supply it to the dairies as a mark of protest, was reported by PTI.
In Madhya Pradesh the strike impact was visible in large towns like Indore and Bhopal. Nearly 60 per cent of the mandis remained closed in in Mandsaur, Shahdol and Jabalpur. Samyukt Sangarsh Morcha Madhya Pradesh Mandi Board, was leading this bandh of the mandis.
In Telangana except the BJP, all political parties supported the bandh call. Joint rallies were held at many places. Thousands of people participated which was attended by leadership of these political parties including the ministers in the government. The state road transport in Telangana was completely shut as the employees boycotted work in support of the famers.
In Tamil Nadu protest demonstrations were held in different cities especially at the government offices of the rain affected regions in Thanjavore, Tiruvar, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and Mayiladuthurai. In Chennai the protest was also joined by bank and BSNL employees during the lunch hours.
In West Bengal the bandh got a good response. National highways were blocked at Krishnanagar, Burdwan, Murhshidabad, Domiur, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and at several other places. In more than 250 places picketing was held by activists of the Left parties. The Congress also participated in road and rail roko in several places in the state.
Many streets and markets wore a deserted look out of bandh.
In Odisha the Biju Janta Dal, ruling party in the state had announced closure of all government offices in the state. A joint body of trade unions and associations in Meghalaya supported the bandh call.
Likewise, in Assam, in the state capital Guwahati the bandh was very effective. Various organisations of the people including the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), Asom Jatiyo Parishad (AJP), Raijor Dol, Left parties and the Congress led the protests. Picketing and protest marches were held at Barpeta, Goalpora, Kamrup, Nagaon, Biswanath, Morigaon, Golaghat, Jorhat and Dhemaji. The National Highway -37 was blocked by CITU and KMSS activists in Deragaon.
In Bihar, normal life was hit. The strike call was supported by the opposition, Mahagathbandhan – Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and Left parties. Trains and road services were blocked. This call of the farmers was also supported by Rashtriya Loktantrik Samta Party and Jan Adhikar Party. National and state highways were stopped at Begusarai, Vaishali, Jehanabad, Gaya, Patna, Bhagalpur, Madhubani, Bhojpur, Siwan, Samastipur, Khagaria, and Purnia. More than a dozen trains were halted at Patna, Jehanabad, Hajipur, and Darbhanga districts.
The strike was observed in the Jammu& Kashmir region as well. In Jammu, farmers staged dharna which was also attended by Bhim Army unit of J & K. Jammu and Kashmir Kisan Tehreek and United Sikh Forum held protests in Srinagar, which was joined by other organisations. Fruit mandis across the Kashmir Valley also observed strike and no operations were carried out. Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers cum Dealer’s Union (KVFGU) heading these mandis observed strike.
In Punjab and Haryana, there was a complete lockdown. Commercial establishments, fuel pumps, markets all of them remained closed. Protests were held by various political parties across these states. Demonstrations were staged by Haryana roadways employees who also supported the farmers’ call of bandh.
In Karnataka massive protest demonstration was held in Bengaluru by the kisan unions. According to PTI, normal life was affected in parts of Karnataka as farmers and workers hit the roads. Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene (Green Brigade) participated in the bandh call. Rallies, demonstrations were held in N+Bengaluru, Mysuru, Belagavi, HubballiDharwad, Raichur, Tumakuru and other places. Shops and commercial establishements remained closed.
In Himachal Pradesh, the bandh call was observed mainly by the two Left parties, CPI(M) and CPI. Protest demonstrations were held in over 25 places. Rasta roko was done in Shimla and Theog. The markets remained closed in Shimla and most of the towns in the state. Even the private bus operators suspended their services for a day.
In Delhi protest demonstrations were held by AAP and Left Parties in the state. Lots of activity took place at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border areas. Nearly 27 transport unions in the capital extended their support to the farmers bandh. Sarvodya Driver Association said that four lakh drivers associated with Ola and Uber did not ply their vehicles on the road supporting the bandh call. The main Azadpur mandi remained closed.
Several leaders were put under house arrest; these include, Akhilesh Yadav, former CM of UP and leader of Samajwadi Party, Arvind Kejriwal, CM of Delhi, Chandrasekhar, leader of the Bhim Army, Subhashini Ali, Polit Bureau Member of the CPI(M) and many others. Several leaders were arrested while participating in demonstrations; AIKS joint secretary K K Ragesh MP, CPI(M) Central Committee member and AIDWA general secretary Mariam Dhawale, AIKS finance secretary P Krishna Prasad, AIAWU joint secretary Vikram Singh, CITU Haryana president Surekha, CWFI president Sukhbir Singh Prabhat were arrested in Gurgaon, Arun Mehta, Central Committee member of the CPI(M), AIKS state president Dayabhai Gajera and state secretary Purushottam Parmar were arrested in Gujarat.
