PATNA: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM)-called Bharat Bandh on Monday witnessed traffic disruptions at several places in Bihar as the opposition parties actively lent their support. Rail traffic was also stopped in Darbhanga by the protesters.
The farmers' nationwide protest call has got support from opposition parties in the state. Several opposition leaders and their supporters came on to the roads and disrupted traffic movement in a bid to make the shutdown successful.
The opposition leaders also added issues like caste-based census, unemployment, scams, price rise in petroleum products and commodities in this Bandh.
Supporters of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and Left parties spilled over the roads from the morning hours. Patna, Darbhanga, Arwal, Arrah, Aurangabad, Jahanabad, Vaishali, Muzaffarpur and some other districts witnessed protests.
The supporters of the RJD burnt tyres on both the ends of Mahatma Gandhi Setu connecting Patna and Hajipur. Due to this, trucks, buses and other vehicles were stuck on both sides resulting in huge traffic built up.
In Darbhanga, the RJD and Congress supporters stopped the New Delhi-Jaynagar Bihar Sampark Kranti Express train.
In Nawada, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangharsh Samiti supporters blocked the Patna-Ranchi main road and disrupted the traffic.
In Arrah, the CPI-ML supporters blocked National Highway (NH)30 at Arrah bus stand. It has severely affected the traffic movement on the busy Patna-Arrah main road route.
In Gaya, the traffic movement got severely affected on the Gaya-Bodh Gaya-Dobhi and Dobhi-Chatra main roads and partially affected the NH 19 that is connecting New Delhi and Kolkata.
In Sheikhpura, the supporters of Mahagathbandhan were involved in forcibly closing the shops.
MLA Sudama Prasad, who took to the streets in Ara, said that inflation was sky high, which was the effect of the three agricultural laws. He said that food insecurity would be created if farming went into the hands of industrialists through the farmers' laws. He said the people have taken to the streets against this.