Bharat Bandh Live : Protests provoke positive response in Punjab, Haryana

Bharat Bandh: Protests provoke positive response in Punjab, Haryana

Bharat Bandh: Protests provoke positive response in Punjab, Haryana

Chandigarh : Crossing party and union lines, long protests that lasted 12 hours across the country on Friday by farmers sparked a positive response in Punjab and Haryana as normal life was disrupted, but in Chandigarh it was almost normal.

Trains crossing the Punjab and Haryana were badly damaged as farmers, farmworkers, commission agents, trade unions and activists of political parties collapsed on the railway line and on national highways.

However, there were no reports of any unintended incident from anywhere in the provinces. Emergency services are exempt from ban.

Bharat Bandh: Protests provoke positive response in Punjab, Haryana

Bharat Bandh: Protests provoke positive response in Punjab, Haryana

 Farmers protest on a railway line in Barnala.

Activists from many farmers' organizations have been seen urging traders in many parts of Congress-Punjab to keep their shops and business centers closed to show off the pan-India protest.

Roadblocks and highways have been received from Punjab's Patiala, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Moga, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and other areas.

Farmers live in Dharna in the town of Lakhan Majra in the Rohtak region.

Adequate security measures have been put in place in both provinces to prevent any serious incidents, a police official said.

'Don't stop getting sick, passengers, milkers', advises a BKU official as a farmer on Belhi-Chandigarh National Highway

Secretary-General of the Baratiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said farmers would see a complete ban on trains and roads. Taxis and other vehicles were also banned.

He said truck unions had extended their support to farmers' unions.

Hisar: Farmers block the railway line in Fatehgarh village in Charkhi Dadri district.

Ludhiana: Farmers planning on Ferozepur Road during the Barat bandh.

Prohibition of various highways in Naraingarh and Mullana in Haryana was also reported.

Expressing solidarity with the peasants, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which oversees Sikh religious affairs and in charge of gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, including the Golden Temple, Amritsar, has announced the closure of its offices.

SGPC President Bibi Jagir Kaur said the institution should remove the rules from the farm.