12-Hour Bharat Bandh Today: Farmers Block Roads, Railway Tracks To Mark 4 Months Of Protest Against Agri Laws

Protestors have blocked roads and railway tracks amid the nationwide lockdown called by the farmers to mark the completion of four months of protests against the contentious agricultural laws.

12-Hour Bharat Bandh Today

Farmers protesting against the 3 agricultural laws have called a 12-hour ‘Bharat Bandh’. The nationwide shutdown began at 6 am on Friday. The pan-India blockade has been called to mark the completion of four months of protests against the laws, which began on the borders of Delhi on November 26 last year.

Rail and road transportation services are likely to be affected and markets may remain closed in parts of the country on Friday as farmer unions protesting against the three agri laws have called a complete ''Bharat Bandh'', even as it will not be observed in four poll-bound states and Puducherry.

Here are the latest updates on Bharat Bandh

• Farmers in Punjab’s Amritsar have blocked railway tracks at Wallah. Punjab, and its neighbouring state of Haryana, are likely to witness a full, 12-hour bandh as the majority of protesters are from the two northern states.

• Farmers blocked the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh Ghazipur border in view of the 12-hour bandh call. “Traffic movement is closed on both carriageways of Ghazipur border,” news agency ANI quoted Delhi Police as saying, earlier in the day.
• Farmers’ unions have also blocked Bhai Ghaniya Chowk in Bhatinda, an intersection that connects the city with Amritsar, Chandigarh, and Ferozepur, as well as Rajasthan.
• Among southern states, the blockade is likely to be most effective in Andhra Pradesh, where the ruling YSR Congress has extended its support to the bandh call.

• Confederation of All India Traders, which claimed representation of eight crore traders in the the country, said that markets will remain open on March 26 as it is not participating in the ''Bharat Bandh''.

  "We are not going to participate in ''Bharat Bandh'' tomorrow. Markets will remain open in Delhi and other parts of the country. The ongoing deadlock can be resolved only through dialogue process. There should be discussions on amendments in the farm laws that can make existing farming profitable," CAIT's national general secretary Praveen Khandelwal told PTI.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi's borders --- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur --- for more than four months, demanding the repeal of farm laws.