Bharat Bandh: Traffic hit on UP-Delhi border, some western UP towns also affected

Security was beefed up along the borders of Ghaziabad and Noida with Delhi while traffic movement on some key routes leading out of the national capital were hit on Monday due to the Bharat Bandh called by farmers against the Centre’s three agricultural laws.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farmers' unions leading the 10-month-old agitation for withdrawal of three contentious farm laws, called for the Bharat Bandh on Monday.

The 6 am to 4 pm Bharat Bandh, which saw demonstrations and rallies in many places, passed off relatively peacefully with no reports of injuries or serious clashes.

The Ghaziabad Police closed a national highway that connects Ghaziabad and Nizamuddin in Delhi.

Heavy police force and the provincial armed constabulary (PAC) were deployed in the district and routes were diverted, Senior Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar said.

Farmer leaders had declared that the 'Raj Talkies' intersection of Modi Nagar would be blocked, and therefore vehicles were diverted from Partapur, Meerut, to the expressway. Vehicles arriving from Hapur and Ghaziabad were diverted towards Noida as the peripheral expressway was closed, the police said. At the UP Gate, which is also the protest site of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) since November last year, police put up barricades on the highway to check vehicles.

“Nobody is allowed to travel from this route between Delhi and Ghaziabad due to the Bharat Bandh call,” Superintendent of Police (Second) Gyanendra Singh told PTI. Apart from UP Gate at Ghazipur border, all three borders between Delhi and Ghaziabad -- Ananad Vihar, Dilshad Garden-Apsara Cinema, and Tulsi Niketan -- remained open for traffic, the SP said.

Meanwhile, the Noida traffic police cautioned commuters against taking the routes passing through Ghazipur in adjoining Ghaziabad for travelling to or from Delhi.

“Routes between Noida and Delhi via Chilla and DND flyway are open. But there was an increased traffic on these routes during the peak office hours. The traffic movement had slowed down a bit because of the pressure,” a traffic police official told PTI.

On the other side, the expressways, including the Yamuna Expressway, leading from Greater Noida into the interior districts of Uttar Pradesh like Mathura, Agra, Aligarh, Lucknow, among others were open without any hindrance in the morning, according to officials.

In Greater Noida, hundreds of farmers, chiefly supporters of BKU, took out a procession which included scores of tractors and two-wheelers.

Similar processions and demonstrations were also witnessed in other western Uttar Pradesh districts like Meerut, Baghpat, Hapur, Mathura and Bulandshahr among others.

In Baghpat, members and supporters of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) joined the demonstrations along with farmers unions.

The dual carriageway at the Ghazipur border was closed for traffic by the Delhi Police, which informed commuters about road closures and traffic snarls on Twitter.

“Due to blocking of National Highway 24 and 9 by protesters, commuters coming from Sarai Kale Khan can take alternate route for Ghaziabad i.e. Vikas Marg for Ghaziabad and for Noida via DND,” the traffic police said on Twitter.

“The Ghazipur border is closed for traffic from both sides due to farmers’ protests. Commuters wishing to commute to and fro between UP and Delhi may use DND flyway, Vikas Marg, Signature bridge, and Wazirabad road. Traffic on NH 24 and 9 is being diverted towards Maharajpur, Apsara and Bhopura borders,” it said in a tweet. In Muzaffarnagar, BKU activists blocked the Delhi-Dehradun national highway at Rampur Tiraha, Chapar and Nawla Kothi, a spokesperson of the union said.

He said BKU activists also blocked the Meerut-Karnal highway and Khatima-Panipat highway.

In addition, roads were blocked in Morna, Jansath, Miranpur and Shahpur as well.

Agra district, however, escaped any major impact of the day-long Bharat Bandh with the farmers barely managing to lodge a symbolic protest.

Shopkeepers and traders symbolically downed their shutter for some time as the vehicular traffic remained normal. The train movement too did not witness any disruptions, spokesperson S K Shrivastava of the North Central Railway, Agra division, said.

In neighbouring Mathura district, arterial roads were blockaded for a couple of hours by the BKU members.

“The blockade was virtually a token protest and no untoward incident was reported from any area,'' Mathura SP (Rural) Shrish Chandra said.

The Mathura-Aligarh road near Raya cut of Yamuna Expressway was affected for a few hours but traffic was restored soon, the SP said.

Some markets in Baldeo, Mat and Bajna areas of the district were shuttered briefly.

Meerut witnessed a section of farmers blocking major highways for a brief period in the district but the movement of army vehicles, school buses, and ambulances was ensured.

However, private bus service on the Meerut-Baghpat road remained closed throughout the shutdown.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)