New Delhi : In solidarity to historic protests against the centre’s anti-farmer legislations, the statewide hartal led by LDF government began Monday morning. The hartal extends from 6 am dawn until 6 pm evening.
The countrywide bandh today, comes as protests against the 3 agricultural laws and Electricity Bill by farm workers’ unions camped at borders of Delhi completes 10 months now. Even so, the centre refuses to hold talks on the subject. Samyukta Kissan Morcha (SKM) - a conglomerate of over 300 farm workers’ unions - rung the call for national bandh.
Leftist parties, other Opposition parties, trade unions, workers’ organisations, bar associations, bank employees’ unions and so forth will participate in the hartal between 6 am and 4 pm evening. Five members from each of these unions will take part in demonstrations.
Exempted from the bandh are : newspaper, milk, ambulance, medical shops, hospitals, weddings and travel for medical reasons. With number of daily commuters bound to be sparse, transport services will not run on regular scale, said KSRTC.
However, bus services with police escort will be facilitated to major hospitals, railway stations and airports in the state. Also, with hartal ending at 6 pm buses will become available for inter-district and inter-state travels.
University and PSC exams have been postponed along with formal interviews. In Kerala, UDF too has announced its backing of the hartal. Also, ruling governments in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have expressed support for the bandh.
SKM, in its statement said no body would be compelled to stay away from work. The bandh is also against Modi government's policy of appeasing corporates in the production and financial sector, it added.
A protest meeting beginning 10 am will be held in front of Raj Bhavan under the aegis of Samykta Karshaka Samiti. AIKS All India Vice President S Rmchandran Pillai will inaugurate the gathering. A joint committee of various trade unions will form protest chains at all main squares.
