Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Monday said that it’s okay if the public experienced ‘inconvenience’ for one day due to the 10-hour-long Bharat Bandh called by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Monday
‘Let one day be in solidarity with farmers who have been experiencing troubles (protesting against farm laws at Delhi border) under [the] sun, [and] heat for [the] last 10 months,’ Tikait told news agency ANI.
Earlier in the day, the BKU leader said that the nationwide strike – called to mark one year since the three farm laws proposed by the central government received President Ram Nath Kovind’s assent — was ‘successful.’
Soon after the commencement of the strike, Tikait took to Twitter to tender an apology to the public and those facing problems due to the event. ‘But farmers have also been facing problems for the last 10 months,’ his post read, adding that farmers have been making ‘good arrangements’ to allow emergency services to function and also providing travelers with tea, milk and water.
Although no major incident of inconvenience was reported from across the country, traffic snarls plagued the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh and Delhi-Gurugram borders, with visuals showing a long queue of cars waiting for hours.
Police barricaded the Delhi-Gurugram Rajokri border at one point of time in view of the protests, which caused even more traffic jams. Meanwhile, traffic from Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan en route to Ghaziabad or Noida of Uttar Pradesh had to be diverted via Vikas Marg and DND flyover, respectively, due to NH 24 and NH 9 being closed.
Furthermore, train operations were also hampered in the Ambala, Firozpur and the national capital divisions as protesting farmers sat on the railway tracks.
Several opposition leaders, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) took part in protests across Bihar, which halted rail and road traffic movement.
Although Tikait hinged on the Bharat Bandh being successful, Indian twitteratis began a trend called ‘Bharat Khula Hai (India is open)’ on the micro-blogging site wherein they shared pictures from their place of living to prove that normal life continued throughout the day.
