The Bharat bandh called on Tuesday in support of farmers got a lukewarm response across the country, with reports of disruptions of normal life from only a few states like Telangana, Andhra and Odisha.
While there were no reports of violence in Punjab, movement of vehicles, including buses, was affected due to closure of roads at various places by farmers. Though government offices were open, attendance was thin as many of the employees joined the protest.
Neighbouring Haryana remained peaceful as farmers sat at various places on state and national highways carrying their tractor-trolleys and hookahs. No political leader was allowed to address the gathering of farmers. In Kaithal, farmers restrained Congress member Randeep Singh Surjewala from addressing the gathering.
In Odisha, normal life was affected as offices, shops, commercial establishments remained largely closed. All state government offices were closed for the day. Buses remained off the road. At least three trains got halted for around one hour in Bhubaneswar as members of Left parties staged rail roko.
The bandh drew mixed response in Jharkhand despite the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition government backing it. In Rajasthan too, despite support from the Congress government, the bandh received mixed response. However, Chhattisgarh, where the Congress and chief minister Bhupesh Baghel came out in support of the bandh, saw widespread impact of the bandh call. Business and establishments stayed shut till 2pm.
In Bihar, opposition party leaders and supporters held demonstrations, put up road blockades and disrupted rail and road traffic across the state to register their protest.
In western UP, farmers blocked all highways leading to Delhi, but allowed operation of all emergency services. The bandh evoked mixed response in MP too. Many cities felt the impact as many markets were closed.
Scores of TRS ministers and MLAs along with leaders blocked national highways, towns in Telangana and in Hyderabad. Businesses were shut and traffic went off the roads for a large part of the day. Normal life was affected in Andhra Pradesh as the state government cancelled public transport services till 1 pm. Government offices also remained closed till 1 pm in support of the farmers.
In Kolkata, while business districts like Bowbazar and Burrabazar were hit by the bandh, students blocked roads in Jadavpur and Dhakuria in south Kolkata. About 26 trains were cancelled.
The bandh had little impact in Tamil Nadu Kerala too. In Mumbai, bandh passed off peacefully with normal life largely unaffected. Transport functioned smoothly with buses and taxis running and banks were open.