Commuters nationwide, including office-goers and schoolchildren, are expected to experience inconvenience as the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), along with other farmer unions, has announced a 'Gramin Bharat Bandh' or nationwide strike on Friday, February 16. The strike is in response to several unfulfilled demands, including the legalization of minimum support prices (MSPs). The Samyukta Kisan Morcha has called on all like-minded farmer organizations to join the Gramin Bharat Bandh on February 16.
The Gramin or Grameen Bharat Bandh is scheduled to begin from 6am to 4pm as the farmers would join in ‘chakka jam’ on major roads across the country from 12 noon to 4pm. Around 3,000 state-run buses will stay off roads on Friday as driver and conductor unions affiliated with Punjab Roadways and PRTC have thrown their weight behind the Bharat Bandh against the Centre’s proposed hit-and-run law. The law, under Section 106(2)BNS, proposes stringent penalties, including a 10-year jail term and a fine of ₹7 lakh, for drivers involved in hit-and-run accidents.
The Gautam Buddh Nagar Police has imposed restrictions under CrPC Section 144, including a ban on unauthorised public assemblies, across the district in view of Bharat bandh called by farmers' unions.The police also cautioned commuters going to Delhi and coming back from the capital city of traffic diversions in Noida and urged citizens to opt for Metro rail service "as far as possible" to avoid inconvenience. Affected sectors
Transportation, agricultural activities, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) rural works, private offices, village shops, and rural industrial and service sector institutions are expected to remain closed.
Impact on essential services emergency services such as ambulance operations, newspaper distribution, marriage ceremonies, medical shops, and students going for board exams are unlikely to be affected.