Shopkeepers forced to down shutters

Fatehgarh Sahib, February 16

On the call of the SKM, a complete bandh was observed at Sirhind, Amloh, Khamano, Bassi Pathana and Fatehgarh Sahib today.

A lot of farmers, supported by lawyers, trade union leaders, anganwadi workers, pensioners and transporters, disrupted traffic on GT Road at Sirhind and near Ranwan village on the Ludhiana Chandigarh road from 10 am to 4 pm.

The police had set up naakas at various points to divert the traffic and prevent any untoward incidents, while the protesters raised slogans against the Central Government. Although the protest caused the traffic in the area to come to a standstill, ambulances and marriage parties were allowed to go through.

Lawyers from the District Bar Association, led by president Amar Deep Singh Dharni, did not work on the day either. The protesting farmers forced the shopkeepers in the district to close the shutters of their shops for the day.

Various leaders of the protesting farmers and representatives of farmer unions lashed out at the Central and Haryana Governments for committing atrocities against the farmers who were protesting peacefully. They said many farmer unions were heading to Delhi to pressurise the Central Government to implement the decisions regarding the already conceded demands. The leaders added that they would intensify the protest and call on other unions to join them if their demands were not met in New Delhi.

Amidst the chaos in the city, they also lashed out at the Punjab Government for not giving any compensation to the farmers.