Bharat Bandh peaceful in Maharashtra, evokes mixed response

Mumbai, Sep 27 : Maharashtra witnessed a mixed response to the 10-hour-long Bharat Bandh called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha having support of all non-BJP parties, here on Monday.

While the SKM action elicited fair to good participation in the semi-rural and rural areas, the response ranged from dull to negligible in semi-urban or urban centres of the state but remained peaceful all over with tight police deployment.

Large number of farmers, labourers and political activists came out in huge numbers in districts like Thane, Palghar, Nashik, Nandurbar, Dhule, Pune, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Solapur and others, but in most urban centres like Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, life was near-normal.The SKM leaders and organisers said that while the Bharat Bandh was total in Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Kerala and others states with a complete shutdown, it got extensive support in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkhand, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

Farmers were supported in the nationwide agitation, trade unions, women, youth and students organisations plus almost all major non-BJP parties across the country, with educational institutions, some government and private offices, wholesale or retail markets and other bodies remaining closed.The SKM said that the Bharat Bandh passes off peacefully in Maharashtra and rest of India with no reports of any violence or untoward incidents, and the organisers appealed not to inconvenience the common public or disrupt essential supplies in any manner.

Top leaders like Balbir Singh Rajewal, Dr Darshan Pal, Gurnam Singh Chaduni, Hannan Mollah, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Shivkumar Sharma, Yudhvir Singh, Yogendra Yadav, Dr Ashok Dhawale, Dr Ajit Nawale and others led the agitation in different parts of the country.Maharashtras ruling alliance partners Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress leaders also came out in full support of the agitation in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and other cities.