Ranchi/Jamshedpur/Ramgarh/Gumla/Sindri: Vehicular movement across the state, particularly along the national highways, suffered on Saturday because of the three-hour chakka jam from 12pm-3pm called by various farmers’ unions and supported by the ruling coalition government, Left parties and members of different rights groups against the new farm laws.
In Ranchi, Congress MLA and state agriculture minister Badal Patralekh led the bandh by staging a sit-in at Booty More along the Ranchi-Hazaribagh stretch of NH-33. Workers of JMM, RJD, Left parties and others, too, blocked the streets here. At Piska More, Namkum and other entry points to the city witnessed similar scenes as trucks and buses were forced to halt. Patralekh said the protests will intensify until the Union government repeals the laws.
“The laws are like a death warrant for the farmers who have realised this and thus everyone across the country is staging protests against the Union government. At the Delhi borders, farmers are fighting for their survival, risking severe cold and other hardships, to safeguard their future,” Patralekh said, adding that they are firmly behind the farmers in their fight.
State Congress president and finance minister Rameshwar Oraon said corporatisation of farming and agricultural land will prove to be the death knell for farming in the country. “Inducing corporates into farming will lead to an imbalance in the agro-economy of the country. For many in the villages, farming is a part of their civilization and culture and entry of private players will end this,” he said.
Criticising Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharjee, who also staged a sit-in along with party workers at the Booty More, said, “The Union minister in Parliament had asked what is black in these laws. We say that the wrong intentions of the Union government to bring these laws through the back door without enough consultation with the states expose their sinister plans to sell the farming sector to the corporates.”
In Namkum, Congress-JMM protesters distributed food to the stranded truck drivers. Rajesh Thakur, co-working president of Congress, said the chakka jam was successful. “The strike got voluntary support as every Indian is in favour of the farmers, who are our country’s annadata,” he said.
Member of CPM’s state secretariat, Prakash Viplav, said all anti-BJP parties, including CPI, CPM, CPI (M-L), Marxist Coordination Committee and others, took part in the agitation. CPI’s Ajay Singh said, “The fight is to preserve the interests of the farmers and the Constitution.”
Protests were also held in Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Gumla, and Ramgarh. In Jamshedpur, vehicles remained off the road on the Paridih-Dimna stretch of NH-33 for over three hours with several Sikh community members taking part in the protest. Long queues of the vehicles could be seen on either side of the Chandil-Jamshedpur and Jamshedpur-Ghatshila roads.