December 9, 2020 10:05:48 am
A group of women volunteers calling on merchants to close shops and support the farmers’ protest during the Bharat Bandh in sector 17 of Chandigarh
While protests against the Center’s farm laws have been driven primarily by farmers, Tuesday’s gang saw strong support from urban areas in Punjab.
As every city in the state saw people hitting the roads this time, even the industrial city of Ludhiana, which usually never reaches such calls, saw people supporting the bandh.
Bakhtawar Singh, owner of Modern Opticals in Chaura Bazar, who is also president of the Chaura Bazar Association, said: “Sade kol zameen nahi par zameer hai (we don’t have land for agriculture, but we have a conscience).
Harjinder Singh Kukreja (34), owner of Hot Breads and Belfrance eating joints in the Sarabha Nagar area of the city, was on the roads with protest farms. Hours earlier, Kukreja along with other shop owners had gathered at the Sarabha Nagar market to welcome the farmers.
This market has many brand name stores and places to eat, and was closed Tuesday in support of farmers.
Kukreja said: “I was at the Singhu border on Monday and Sunday, our whole family was part of the candlelight march in Sarabha Nagar market.”
His wife, Harkirat Kaur (30), was part of that candlelight march along with their 9, 7 and 2 year old children. Kukreja said: “The farmers are linked to us. The whole economy is related to farmers. Our state is an agrarian state and the same money rotates in the market. If a farmer earns less, the same money will rotate in the market and therefore my restaurant will be automatically affected. In fact, even if my neighbor loses his job, it affects me and here is 60 percent of the population of the state. I feel that they must be heard and their demands must be met. “
Sonu Nilibar (52), the owner of Nilibar, a clothing store on Mall Road, said: “The city stayed open during the farmers’ previous bandh calls on September 25 and one was in October, but this time, I went the first to display a board outside my store on December 3 to extend my support to farmers. Later, some friends and I decided to extend our support to bandh. I saw that most of the city wanted to support farmers, as I could see signs in markets and stickers on cars on Monday night. “
His wife, Puneet Nilibar (45), said: “Every day at the dining room table we talk only about farmers. We thank you for the food we eat. A deep thank you to them, therefore, watching bandh for a day is not a big deal, they are sitting on the freezing cold roads. “
Preet Chandoke, a software engineer, said: “I keep in touch with farmers a lot as we try to produce biofuel from rice stubble. So we understand your problems, the climate challenges, and the government’s support. We support them and we always support our farmers. “
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Roti pasted on pla-cards by Zirakpur residents to mark their protest (Express Photo by Jaipal Singh)
Ranjodh Singh, owner of GS Auto, a car company, was in Jagraon Bridge Dharna along with people from all walks of life.
He said: “The merchants, the industrialists, the people from the service sector had gathered on the Jagraon Bridge. None of us have any land in the villages, but we support the farmers. Assi Zameena te zameeran daunve kayam rakhange (we will cling to both the earth and our conscience) ”.
Harminder Singh Tuteja, who runs a sanitary ware shop in Ludhiana, said: “Farmers’ income is going to affect us. If you are not satisfied with the agricultural laws, why are they being implemented? “
Nilibar added, “80% of the farmers in Punjab have land less than 5 acres and therefore will be affected. Even if these laws are for the good, why weren’t farmers informed in common language before putting them into practice? We support farmers and we will always support them in this fight ”.
Nilibar’s father, Uttam Singh (82), said: “I emigrated from Pakistan, where my parents were Ahrtiyas. First, we settled in Malaut in the Muktsar district to continue working as ahrityas, and then we moved to Ludhiana. We are closely related to farmers. Many of our clients are from towns. Most of our NRI clients are rural based in Punjab. We are well aware that if the farmers are unhappy, the nation is unhappy.
City areas like Jawaddi Bridge, Dugri Bridge, all major roads were blocked by residents and mostly came from cities. “No one was forced to close shops as I live in BRS Nagar and only one cloth merchant in our area opened his shop, and no one objected. This was a self-observed bandh, ”said Ranjodh Singh.
Meanwhile, some industrial units were opened even though most industry associations had called for the units to close. Interestingly, many doctors and nurses also supported this cause, although they extended their support through social media.
Kuldeep Singh Khaira, a social activist who runs a dairy shop in Ishar Singh Nagar, said: “I participated in this demonstration in my area and my wife, who is a nurse in a private hospital, joined me today because she had no morning shift.”
Amarjeet Kaur, his wife, said: “We differ in our opinions most of the time, but this time I fully support him. “
In Bathinda, 35 urban welfare associations participated in the bandh call.
Teacher Resham Singh, a government school teacher living in Bathinda, said: “Everyone here closed their units / shops without signs or messages. The impact was so strong. We even joined the farmers’ protest in front of the mall of a corporate house in Bhucho Mandi. “
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Protest in Sector 17, Chandigarh (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
Barnala also had a similar impact on the joint demonstrations of the urban and rural population. “Normally, the Barnala city area responds to calls from farmers, but this time the response was extraordinary,” said Narian Dutt, a social activist in Barnala.
The urban areas in Mansa, Muktsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Sangrur, Moga, Patiala, Faridkot also saw an overwhelming response to bandh.
Shahi Imam provides support
Shahi Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman Sani Ludhianavi led a march of members of the Muslim community from the Jama Masjid to the Jagraon Bridge in Ludhiana. They all had langar together arranged by a local gurdwara. Similarly, Muslim men and women also flocked to the roads of Bathinda.
Cong, SAD hold protests
Congress organized dharnas at the district level throughout the state. SAD workers also organized dharnas in all Punjab cities to support farmers.
Overwhelming answer: farm outfits
Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, General Secretary of BKU (Ugrahan), said: “This time the response from urban areas was more than expected. Even in Chandigarh, residents supported farmers on their own. Our Prime Minister must understand that people have written it on the wall as what they want. “
Jagmohan Singh Patiala from the All India Kisan Sangrash Coordinating Committee said: “Urban people have also been involved in organizing special programs before. However, this time their voluntary bandh after relying on a call from the farmers’ unions shows that we all have one voice. The majority should win and the government should give in. “
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