Response visible in west UP, token protests in rest of state
S Raju, Chandan Kumar, Oliver Fredrick, K Sandeep Kumar and Rohit Singh
MEERUT/LUCKNOW/PRAYAGRAJ : The Bharat Bandh called by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday evoked a visible response in western UP districts, but the rest of the state saw only token demonstrations. No untoward incident or clashes were reported from anywhere in the state during the bandh marking four months of the ongoing farmers’ movement against three contentious central farm laws.
Additional director general (ADG) of police Prashant Kumar said that strategic deployment of police force was made all across the state in view of the bandh and no untoward incident was reported anywhere.
Chief public relations officer (North Eastern Railway) Pankaj Kumar Singh said the farmers’ protest had no impact on train operations as no incident of train disruption was reported.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders, along with farmers and activists of trade unions, blocked highways and roads at various locations in western UP.
Hundreds of BKU activists and members of Leftist trade unions blocked the busy Kala Aam Chauraha in Bulandshahr district for over four hours. BKU’s general secretary for NCR (National Capital Region) Mange Ram Tyagi led the protestors, who also garlanded an LPG cylinder and a bag of DAP fertilizer to express their anger over the increasing prices. Protestors shouted the slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”. Many of them lay on the road. Tyagi said that the farmers’ movement would continue until the government agreed to repeal the three farm laws. Highways at Dibai, Khurja, Sikandrabad, Anoopshahr and Gulaothi were also blocked for some time in Bulandshahr district.
In Meerut, farmers blocked NH-58 (Delhi-Dehradun highway) for some time at Daurala and also at other locations. In Baghpat, BKU activists sat on the Delhi-Gangotri highway and in Muzaffarnagar they blocked roads at Rampur Tiraha, Nawla Kothi, Lalukheri, Morna and Fugana areas.
“We blocked roads for over an hour as per the directions of our leaders,” said Dheeraj Latiyan, BKU’s district president in Muzaffarnagar.
Leaders and activists of BKU (Asli) blocked NH-24 (Delhi-Lucknow highway) at Rajabpur, state highway at Dhanaura and Badaun-Bijnor highway at Chandanpur in Amroha disrict. BKU (Asli) vice-president Surendra Singh said that farmers blocked traffic on the highways for over an hour and demanded the withdrawal of the three farm laws.
In Rampur, Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur, groups of farmers handed over memorandums of their demands to local administrative officials. No incident of violence or forced closure was reported.
Dilbagh Singh, a member of a farmers’ group in Shahjahanpur district said, “The bandh was peaceful. Some of our members also went to Delhi to join in protest there.”
In Prayagraj, farmer and workers’ unions took out processions and staged meetings. They took out a protest march at Jhalwa crossing, carrying the Tricolour to express their solidarity with the agitating farmers and opposition to the three farm laws.
Led by BKU Prayagraj district unit’s organization secretary Dhirendra Kumar Shukla, the workers shouted slogans against the central government. They demanded the repeal of the three agriculture reform laws. Instead, the government should bring a law on Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and procurement, cancel all police cases against farmers and reduce prices of diesel, petrol and gas.
The protesting BKU members also staged a brief roadblock and later handed over a charter of demands to the district administration, they said.
They then garlanded a statue of farmer leader the late Mahendra Singh Tikait. Local units of All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) also took out marches and held meetings in protest against these laws in the Ghoorpur and Jari areas in the transYamuna region of Prayagraj district.
In Lucknow, a few farmers’ groups held small protests in Bakshi ka Talab and Kaori located on the city outskirts. The bandh also had a little impact in Sitapur, Hardoi and Barabanki districts, according to local kisan union leaders