Hundreds of farmers continue to protest in and around Delhi as talks with the Centre continue over the recently passed Farm Acts. As the protests enter their 13th day, the farmers remain undaunted by the ongoing cold wave and remain camped along the borders of Delhi.
The latest round of talks, held on December 5 had proven inconclusive. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has called another meeting on December 9.
Against this backdrop, various farm groups had given a call for a Bharat Bandh on December 8. This call to action has received widespread support from many opposition parties including the ruling Maha Aghadi Government in Maharashtra.
The 'Bharat Bandh' elicited mixed early response in Pune today, with no reports of any violence.
Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) remained closed in many parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday in support of the Bharat Bandh. However, Pune APMC was opened for farmers who came from long distance to store their produce.
Several retail and wholesale shops also remained closed today.
Ruling Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have extended their support for the shutdown.
However, the state government has appealed to protesters to not disrupt public transport services.
Meanwhile, public transport services, including buses and local trains, remained unaffected in Pune so far.
Unions of autorickshaws and taxis have extended their support to the shutdown but have decided to operate their services as usual.
"All our operations in the city are unaffected and no incident of buses being stopped anywhere has been reported yet," said an official from PMPML (Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal).
Workers of the ruling Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress held a protest in support of farmers at Alka Chowk in the city.
(With inputs from agencies)
