Punjab bandh: Railway, road services affected, what’s open and closed?

Life was disrupted in several parts of Punjab due to a ‘bandh’ called by farmers protesting against the Centre's alleged failure to provide a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

Rail and road traffic were severely affected, with commercial establishments remaining closed in many parts of the state. Farmers staged ‘dharnas’ on various roads, disrupting commuter traffic as part of their bandh call.

“The central government should abandon its old stubbornness and open the way for talks with the farmers' organizations... A cat does not run away when a pigeon winks.. I don't know what penance the central government is doing now?? If Modi ji can stop the war between Russia and Ukraine, then can't he talk to the breadwinners sitting 200 kilometers away? What time are you waiting for..?” Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann wrote in a post on X.

What’s open and what’s shut due to the Punjab Bandh?

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher told reporters in Amritsar that emergency and other essential services would be allowed to operate.

He said anyone travelling to the airport to catch a flight anyone going to attend a job interview, or anyone needing to attend a wedding, will be allowed.

“All establishments are closed. Punjabis have shown their unity today and they are extending full support,” Pandher claimed.

“We are seeing a successful bandh. Train services are also completely suspended and no train is entering Punjab,” he said.

In Phagwara, farmers staged a dharna near the Sugarmill crossing on NH-44, blocking the roads leading from Phagwara towards Nakodar, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr.

They also staged a dharna at Behram toll plaza on Phagwara-Banga road. Grain markets were shut in several places.

Why have farmers called for Punjab Bandh?

Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border demanding a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Meanwhile, 70-year-old farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's hunger strike entered its 35th day on Monday.

Dallewal had earlier said he would not break his fast until the government agreed to the farmers' demands.

The apex court has given the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade Dallewal to shift to a hospital, granting the state the liberty to seek logistical support from the Centre, if necessary.

Farmers, under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

With PTI inputs