Bharat Bandh Today: Delhi Police Beefs Up Security, ‘Rail Roko’ In Maharashtra

Supporters of the Congress and Left parties blocked railway tracks at several places, and held sit-ins on roads to enforce the nationwide shutdown, which evoked a mixed response in West Bengal.

The Bharat Bandh partially affected the state with private vehicles remaining off the roads, while public transport, including buses and taxis, operating fewer than the usual.

In Kolkata, CPI(M) activists along with SFI and DYFI members blocked roads in Lake Town, College Street, Jadavpur and Shyambazar Five-Point Crossing.

Roads were also blocked by Left and Congress supporters at Madhyamgram Chowmatha in North 24 Parganas district, Panskura in Paschim Medinipur, Bali in Howrah district, Baharampur in Murshidabad, and Kharagpur as police tried to persuade them to allow vehicular movement.

They blocked railway tracks at Jadavpur and Madhyamgram in Eastern Railway's Sealdah section, and Rishra and Bardhaman in the Howrah section.

In Jadavpur, senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty led a rally from 8B Bus Stand along the SC Mallick Road.

The ruling Trinamool Congress has supported the shutdown though it has stayed away from enforcing it.

Protests were held in Seoni-Malwa area in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh in support of the 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmer unions.

The protesters under the banner of the Krantikari Kisan Mazdoor Sangthan raised slogans and demanded repeal of the new agriculture laws.

A Congress spokesman said the party will hold demonstrations at headquarters of various districts around 11:00 a.m.

A senior police official said no untoward incident was reported so far from across the state.

Social activist Anna Hazare sat on a day-long hunger strike to support farmers who have demanded the repeal of Centre’s farm laws.

Hazare also said the agitation should spread across the country so that the government comes under pressure to act in the interests of cultivators.

In a recorded message, Hazare appreciated farmers’ protests at the borders of Delhi saying no violence has taken place in the last 10 days of the agitation.

"I appeal to the people of the country that the agitation which is going on in Delhi should spread across the country. The situation needs to created to create pressure on the government, and to achieve this, farmers need to hit streets. But no one should resort to violence," said Hazare who began his fast in Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

He said this was the "right time" for farmers to come out on streets and get their issues resolved.

Protesters blocked three highways in rural Gujarat by placing burning tyres on roads on Tuesday morning as part of the Bharat Bandh, affecting vehicular traffic for some time.

A highway connecting Ahmedabad to Viramgam was blocked near Sanand by protesters from the Congress party who placed burning tyres on roads, causing a traffic jam.

Another group of protesters blocked a national highway in Vadodara.

In yet another incident, a highway connecting Bharuch and Dahej in Bharuch district was similarly blocked near Nandelav by protesters.

Police detained protesters in Ahmedabad and brought the situation under control, an official said.

The state government has imposed section 144 of the CrPC, which bans assembly of more than four persons, in view of the Bharat Bandh.

Members of a farmers' organisation on Tuesday staged a 'rail roko' in Maharashtra's Buldhana district as part of the Bharat Bandh called by farmer unions.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna members stopped the Chennai-Ahmedabad Navjeevan Express at Malkapur station in Buldhana district while protesting against the farm laws.

Police detained Sanghatana leader Ravikant Tupkar and his supporters over the incident, after removing them from the rail tracks, an official said.

Agriculture Produce Market Committees in Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Dhule, Pune and Solapur are closed during the bandh.

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses are plying as scheduled during the Bharat Bandh, a senior official of the state-run undertaking said. The buses will continue to ply unless there are law and order problems due to the shutdown, he added.

The All India Motor Transport Congress, an apex body of trucker outfits, has joined the bandh and has suspended operations on Tuesday.

Transportation of essential commodities like milk, vegetables and fruits have been excluded from the bandh, said Daya Natkar, secretary of Maharashtra Rajya Truck Tempo Tankers Vahatuk Sangh.

Taxi union leader AL Quadros said taxis are plying in Mumbai as the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown had already hit the sector severely.

In Maharashtra, the ruling Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress are supporting the bandh.