Mixed response to 'Bharat Bandh' by farmers in Uttar Pradesh

The call for 'Bharat Bandh' on Friday by the farmers' outfits in protest against the new agriculture reform Bills evoked a mixed response in Uttar Pradesh.

The effect of the 'bandh' was felt more in the western UP districts of Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Noida, Baghpat, and others, where a large number of farmers, led by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) blocked traffic on several highways.

The opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), and Aam Admi Party (AAP), also lent support to the 'bandh' and their workers came out in large numbers to hold demonstrations against the Bills.

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According to the reports, traffic on the busy Delhi-Dehradun highway was affected after hundreds of BKU workers and farmers squatted on the road.

Demonstrations were also held in Varanasi, Barabanki, Raebareli, Gorakhpur, and Basti divisions, reports said. The farmers blocked the Lucknow-Faizabad highway for several hours in protest against the Farm Bills.

BKU president Naresh Tikait said that the protest of the farmers would continue until the government withdrew the Bills. ''The reforms will make the farmers slaves of the corporate houses...we will not rest till our demands are met,'' he told a gathering of farmers in Muzaffarnagar.

There were reports of a scuffle between the farmers and the police at some places when the cops tried to evict the farmers from the highways.

At some places, the police arrested the farmers after they refused to lift the blockade of the highways, sources said.