Punjab bandh: Farmers block roads at many places, traffic hit

Chandigarh: Farmers blocked roads at many places across the state on Monday as part of their Punjab bandh call, hamstringing the commuter traffic. A call for a shutdown was given last week by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha over the Centre not accepting the demands of protesting farmers.

The bandh will be observed from 7 am to 4 pm. Farmers observed a sit-in at Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza which affected vehicular movement on the Patiala-Chandigarh National Highway.

Farmers protest at Amritsar Golden Gate

At Amritsar's Golden Gate, farmers started to assemble near the city's entry point while in Bathinda's Rampura Phul, they blocked roads. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Sunday said though there will be a complete bandh, emergency services will be allowed to operate.

"The bandh will be observed from 7 am to 4 pm. However, emergency services will remain operational. Anyone travelling to the airport to catch a flight or anyone going to attend a job interview, or anyone needs to attend a wedding... all these things have been kept out of our bandh call," he said.

35th day of hunger strike

Meanwhile, 70-year-old farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's hunger strike entered its 35th day on Monday. Dallewal has so far refused medical treatment. Dailewal is a cancer survivor and the Supreme Court had asked the farmers to take medical treatment. Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border demanding a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

A team deputed by the Punjab government on Sunday made attempts to persuade fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to take medical aid, but he declined and feared that force may be used to evict him from the protest site. With 70-year-old Dallewal's indefinite hunger strike farmer leaders at Khanauri said they have been following the Gandhian way to continue their protest and it is up to the government to decide whether it wants to use force to evict their senior leader. The developments came amid the Supreme Court's strong criticism of the Punjab government for not shifting Dallewal to a hospital.

A high-level team of Punjab government comprising Deputy Inspector General of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu and retired Additional DGP Jaskaran Singh met Dallewal and farmer leaders at Khanauri border site on Sunday.

Farmers demand MSP for crops

Dallewal had earlier said he would not break his fast until the government agreed to the farmers' demands. The apex court has given the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade Dallewal to shift to a hospital, granting the state the liberty to seek logistical support from the Centre, if necessary.

Farmers, under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

A "jatha" (group) of 101 farmers attempted to march to Delhi on foot three times between December 6 and 14 but were stopped by security personnel from Haryana. Besides the MSP, farmers are also demanding a debt waiver, pension, no hike in electricity tariffs, withdrawal of police cases, and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

(Inputs from PTI)