‘Gaon Bandh’ Day 2: No major impact in state

CHANDIGARH: The ongoing 10-day agitation of farmers, ‘Gaon Bandh’, had a little impact in Haryana on its second day as the availability of vegetables and milk, supply of which the farmers had threatened to stop, remained by and large unaffected on Saturday.

While there was no major impact of the stir in Karnal, Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra, the milk supply to Haryana Dairy Development Co-operative Federation Ltd (Vita) was hit as the dairy farmers found it difficult to supply the milk to the Vita plants in Kurukshetra, Ambala and Jind.

In small towns, the dairy farmers, however, started direct supply of milk to the markets.

Farmer union leaders held meetings with farmers exhorting them to support the strike, but they did not stop the sale of the milk and vegetables to the markets.

Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Gurnam Singh Chaduni held meetings in Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar and appealed the farmers to support the stir, the call for which has been given by the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, an umbrella of farmer organizations.

In Sirsa and Fatehabad districts, police booked about 100 unidentified persons under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including rioting (147), unlawful assembly (149), criminal intimidation (506), trespassing (452), theft (382) and obstruction in public life (149).

Police spokesperson in Sirsa, Surjeet Singh, said, “The district police registered four cases, three in Rania sub-division and one under Kalanwali tehsil, after getting complaints. Police teams have been formed and the process of identification of accused has been started.”

In Hisar, some villagers started their protest early morning and did not allow the vegetable sellers to reach local markets. Several milk suppliers, including Satnam Singh and Suresh Kumar of Hisar ,said since they feared damage to their products, they were taking different, though longer, routes to reach markets. Some farmers reportedly threw vegetables at a gaushala (cattle pound) at Kabrel village.

In Rohtak and adjoining areas, the farmers’ strike did not evoke any major response. No major protest was witnessed nor any supply hit in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat and Jind districts. (With inputs from Karnal,

Rohtak and Hisar)

IN SIRSA AND FATEHABAD DISTRICTS, POLICE BOOKED ABOUT 100 UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS UNDER VARIOUS CHARGES