Karnataka bundh likely on Monday as farmers call for protest

Bengaluru: A joint forum of farmers’ organisations, an hour after the state government moved to amend the APMC Act, called for a protest on Monday, September 28.

The protest call has received support from Opposition parties, including the Congress, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), and Left parties, trade unions, truck owners’ associations and auto unions.

Monday’s strike, as per a report by DH, will follow a state bundh and national highways bundh on Friday.

Addressing the media, farmer leaders Kuruburu Shanthakumar and Kodihalli Chandrashekhar said that all farmer associations have come together to call for the strike.

Shanthakumar termed the government’s Bill as “nothing less than a death sentence for the farming community”, DH reported.

“A total shutdown (bandh) will be observed from dawn to dusk on Monday across the state in protest against the anti-farmer Bills which the Centre has passed in the Parliament and the bills to amend the APMC Act and the Land Reforms Act by the state government here,” Sanga president Kodihalli Chandrashekar told reporters here.

The strike was initially called for Friday, however, it was postponed as the organisation expected the government to heed to their request. The tabling of the Bill in the Assembly, however, provoked the farmers to hold several protests over the past few days.

“About 30 organisations, including opposition parties, are extending support to our shutdown call, as the changes to the laws will threaten our livelihood,” said Chandrashekar.

“We will continue the agitation till the Centre and state government withdraw their bills, which are anti-farmer and anti-people,” he added.

Services likely to be affected

During the protest, trucks, auto-rickshaws and taxi services across Karnataka will be affected.

Many taxi drivers working with app-based cab aggregators are also expected to stay off the road as it was decided, during a joint meeting of some of the associations, that they would support the strike.

The state cabinet on June 12 agreed to amend the Land Reforms Act to allow all citizens to purchase agricultural lands for farming or growing vegetables and fruits.

Source: NK