There has been protests in various parts of the country since the passage of several Farm Bills in the Parliament's Monsoon Session. While Opposition parties have already indicated their displeasure both through their words and by boycotting and protesting, many farmers have taken to the streets to express their ire. And to this end, many organisations are marking September 25 as a bharat bandh.
In some areas, this is not the first day of protests. Farmers in Punjab for example have already compelled the authorities to suspend some trains on Thursday as they began their three-day rail roko agitation.
How will it affect commute and the transport system?
Keeping in view the farmers' agitation in Punjab, some trains operated by Northern Railway will remain cancelled or partially cancelled.
The 04652 Amritsar-Jaynagar Express has been cancelled on September 25. Consequently, the 04651 Jaynagar-Amritsar Express will also remain cancelled on September 27.
The 02058/02057 New Delhi - Una Himachal special train journey commencing on September 25 will be short terminated at/short originate from Chandigarh.
The 02904 Amritsar-Mumbai Central Special train journey commencing on September 24, 25 and 26 will short originate from Ambala instead of journey commencing on September 25, 26 and 27.
There will also be road blocks in different parts of the country. While the the Delhi Police is on high alert, there are also reports that the Delhi-Haryana border may be sealed. NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal which recently withdrew its lone Union Cabinet Minister from the Modi government in protest against the Bills has announced plans for a three hour 'chakka jam' across Punjab.
"Now I will join the farmers in their protest against the ‘kala kanoon’. I need the blessings of the ‘sangat’ and also appeal to all parties to leave politics aside and launch a joint struggle in favour of our farmers," former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had tweeted yesterday. In the meantime, neighbouring Haryana is also likely to face commuting issues as the Bharatiya Kisan Union has called for highways to be seized.
While some of the ruling parties may not have called for a bandh, organisations within these states have declared their intention to hold protests and agitate. Others such as the AAP and the Congress have lent their support to the agitation. The BKU in Uttar Pradesh, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in West Bengal and Maharashtra, the Samyuktha Karshaka Samiti in Kerala and many farm organisations in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have also extended their support to the bandh. It is unclear how this will affect the states in question.
