Farmers call for Bharat bandh against new farm laws

Thousands of farmers reached the national capital on their tractor-trolleys and other vehicles, responding to the “Delhi Chalo” call against the agri-marketing laws enacted at the Centre in September.

Landowners and agricultural workers from the northern Indian state of Punjab have been striking for days against the central government after it passed a series of reforms on farming laws.

The call for Bharat bandh by farmers protesting against three farm laws is taking shape, the crowd at Delhi’s borders is expanding by the minute as more farmers have joined the demonstration since Monday night and many more are yet to arrive. Security at the borders where the farmer groups are camping has been stepped up in view of the strike.

A much larger gathering could be seen at the Singhu border than previous days, with the protesting farmers saying more of them have arrived since Monday night. “About 200 trucks laden with farmers are set to arrive at the Singhu border by today afternoon. Many have already reached, hence the increase in the rush,” Anavjeet Singh, a farmer from Balauli village of Ropar district, said.

Protesting farmers completely blocked Delhi-Meerut expressway at Ghazipur-Ghaziabad (UP Gate) border that connects Delhi and Ghaziabad. Until Monday night, only one carriageway of the highway was blocked along with the service road of National Highway 24 at the UP Gate border that is closed for the past 10 days.