Tuesday, 28 September 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
Uttarakhand saw a mixed response to the call of the Sainyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) for Bharat Bandh on Monday to mark one year of the central government’s three farm laws. Some political parties also supported the Bandh. The unions also conducted a protest rally against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Dehradun which was supported by some Congress leaders. However, routine public life along with all major commercial establishments and services continued to operate in Dehradun and in most parts of the state.
According to the president of Doon Valley Mahanagar Udyog Vyapar Mandal (DVMUVM), Pankaj Masson, the farmers’ union neither approached them to participate in the strike nor insisted on shutting the shops forcefully to support them. However, the operation of the newly launched special train between Dehradun and Saharanpur was stopped in Haridwar and cancelled from Saharanpur as a security measure during the protest period, stated Dehradun railway station master Sitaram Sonkar. The impact of the protest was observed the most in several areas of Udham Singh Nagar district like Jaspur, Rudrapur and Kashipur where the protestors conducted rallies and stopped vehicles on highways.
Though the impact of the Bharat Bandh was observed to be subdued across the state, the state in-charge of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Usha Tomar claimed it to be a success.
She stated that the protesting unions mainly focussed on the rural areas of the state where crops are grown by farmers. “We did not focus on all the cities as it would have created an unnecessary ruckus. We received plenty of support in rural areas of Doiwala, Kalsi and Vikasnagar blocks here and in several areas of other districts too. We had announced Bandh for 10 hours since 6 AM and no one was forced to shut down shops or to join the protest during this period but we received enormous support across the state,” stated Tomar.
