NEW DELHI, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Normal life in the northern Indian state of Punjab Monday remained affected due to a bandh call from farmer organizations demanding a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops from the federal government.
Shops, businesses and commercial establishments remained shut in several places of the state and traffic was off the roads.
Reports said at many places farmers blocked roads and rail tracks to stage sit-in protests to enforce the bandh. However, emergency services were allowed to operate.
Sarwan Singh Pandher, a farmer leader, said the bandh was observed from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (local time) across the state.
Public transport remained off roads and even private bus operators suspended services in support of the farmers' bandh call.
The rail traffic was also affected in the wake of the strike call. Train services were completely suspended and no trains entered Punjab.
According to India's state-run broadcaster, All India Radio (AIR), railways cancelled 150 trains in view of the Punjab bandh.
"The cancelled trains include Shatabdi and Vande Bharat Express operating between Delhi and Punjab," the AIR said. "According to Northern Railways, 13 trains have also been rescheduled, apart from the cancellation."
Meanwhile, the 70-year-old farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's hunger strike Monday entered its 35th day. While refusing medical treatment, he had earlier said he would not break his fast until the federal government agreed to the farmers' demands.
Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border since Feb. 13 this year to press for their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP for their crops. Their multiple efforts to march to India's national capital earlier this month were met with strong force from the police who fired tear smoke shells and resorted to baton charging to dispel the protesting farmers.
In September 2020, Indian government passed three contentious laws aimed at "modernizing" the country's agriculture sector. However, farmers feared the new laws would weaken their position and make them dependent on corporates. Thousands of farmers have been on strike calling for the law's revocation.
The strike has dragged on for over a year after which the government announced it was repealing the laws. ■