Punjab bandh begins over farmers’ protest: Roads blocked, trains cancelled, buses off roads

Farmers blocked roads at many places across the state on Monday as part of their Punjab bandh call, affecting the commuter traffic in several areas.

The bandh is being observed from 7 am to 4 pm on Monday, December 30. Farmers observed a sit-in at Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza which affected vehicular movement on the Patiala-Chandigarh National Highway.

A call for a shutdown was given last week by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha over the Centre not accepting the demands of protesting farmers.

At Amritsar’s Golden Gate, farmers started to assemble near the city’s entry point while in Bathinda’s Rampura Phul, they blocked roads.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Sunday said though there will be a complete bandh, emergency services will be allowed to operate.

“The bandh will be observed from 7 am to 4 pm. However, emergency services will remain operational. Anyone travelling to the airport to catch a flight or anyone going to attend a job interview, or anyone needs to attend a wedding… all these things have been kept out of our bandh call,” he said.

Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border demanding a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The Railways has cancelled 150 trains due to the Punjab Bandh call. These include flagships like Vande Bharat and Shatabdi.

Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s hunger strike continues amid Punjab bandh
Meanwhile, 70-year-old farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s hunger strike entered its 35th day on Monday. Dallewal has so far refused medical treatment.

Dallewal had earlier said he would not break his fast until the government agreed to the farmers’ demands.

The apex court has given the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade Dallewal to shift to a hospital, granting the state the liberty to seek logistical support from the Centre, if necessary.

Farmers, under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

A “jatha” (group) of 101 farmers attempted to march to Delhi on foot three times between December 6 and 14 but were stopped by security personnel from Haryana.

Besides the MSP, farmers are also demanding a debt waiver, pension, no hike in electricity tariffs, withdrawal of police cases, and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.