Heavy impact in several states

NEW DELHI: Besides Punjab and Haryana, the Bharat Bandh call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) affected western Uttar Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan and parts of northern Madhya Pradesh, but its impact in the rest of the country was limited to opposition parties and farm bodies holding symbolic protests.

“There was an unprecedented response to Bharat Bandh,” SKM said in a statement. In western UP, farm leader Rakesh Takait led the protests. Highways and roads were blocked in close to 200 locations including the Delhi-agra expressway, but there was little impact in central, eastern or Bundelkhand regions.

In Madhya Pradesh, shops remained partially closed in cities such as Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain and Mandsaur.

In the eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, the strike call evoked a tepid response. However, opposition political parties such as CPI(M) in Bengal and RJD in Bihar blocked traffic at some locations. in the early hours.

In Bhopal’s Karond Mandi, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh of the Congress party joined the protest, and requested farmer leaders to invite politicians from both the Congress and the BJP to fight against the central government’s three farm bills.

The response in Rajasthan was mixed, with farmer organisations taking out rallies in every district, but roads were blocked only in eastern and northern parts of the state. Convener of the All India Kissan Sabha, Sanjay Madhav said more such protests will take place in the coming days.

Among the southern states, the strike had some impact in Kerala, where the ruling Left and the opposition Congress supported the bandh. In Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, farmer bodies held symbolic protests in the state capitals, Bengaluru and Chennai, and in some district headquarters.

With inputs from state bureaus)