Bharat Bandh evokes mixed response in Prayagraj
Road blockade, protests at several places but businesses remain unaffected
The Bharat Bandh call given by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha evoked mixed response in Prayagraj district on Monday.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and All Indian Kisan Majdoor Sabha (AIKMS) workers held demonstrations in various parts of Prayagraj. Protestors, including women, also blocked roads blocks at many places including Sulem Sarai Bazaar in Dhumanganj disrupting traffic on Prayagraj-Kanpur highway for hours. Protests were also reported from Jari, Bara and Ghoorpur areas of trans-Yamuna belt and also from Phulpur in trans-Ganga area of the district.
However, barring a brief while when some shopkeepers pulled down the shutters as protestors passed through the main MG road of Civil Lines, shops, businesses and commercial activities remained unaffected.
Schools and offices of various government, semi-government and private sector remained open and functioned normally.
IG Prayagraj range KP Singh said that no untoward incident was reported during the Bharat Bandh. “Protestors handed over a memorandum of demands to the police officials and the road blockades were cleared as soon as possible,” he said.
BKU (Arajnaitik) district president Anuj Singh accused the central and the state governments of ignoring the demands of the farmers. Dubbing the government as anti-farmer, Singh said the government had failed to resolve the issues. Police and PAC teams were deployed at various intersections and intensive patrolling was done across the city and at railway and bus stations.
BKU workers also took out a motorcycle rally near Dhumanganj Sulem Sarai and protested. After this, the protestors blocked the road by parked the tractor on the middle of the road.
The police reached the spot and tried to convince the protestors to lift the blockade but were unsuccessful. The road blockade led to traffic on KanpurPrayagraj route for several hours.
Attempts to block roads were also made at Shankargarh, Koraon, Bahria, Sarai Mamrej (GT road).