New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS): To mark a year of the Centre's passed three contentious farm laws, hundreds of farmers on Monday blocked the Ghazipur border to protest and seek repeal of the laws as they joined the Bharat Bandh call given by farmers bodies to bring attention to their plight.
Most of the protesters IANS spoke to have been sitting at Ghazipur -- the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border -- for the last 10 months.
Suba Singh, 52, from Meerut said: "Along with other farmers, I have been sitting here and we will not budge until these three laws by the Modi government are taken back."
Another farmer, Kishan Pal, a resident of Mainpuri in Uttar Pardesh said: "Today, farmers, labourers and traders in India are suffering. We have all been cheated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the kind of laws he is being coming up with."
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha in a statement on Sunday said, "It was on September 27 that President Ram Nath Kovind gave his nod to and brought into force the three anti-farmer black laws last year. Tomorrow, there will be a total Bharat Bandh observed around the country from 6 am to 4 pm."
The farm leaders have appealed all Indians to join the shutdown and have called for a peaceful strike.
In wake of the 'Bharat Bandh', Delhi Traffic Police have announced that vehicular movement from Uttar Pradesh towards the state's Ghazipur border with the national capital has been stopped. "Traffic movement has been closed from UP towards Ghazipur due to protest," it tweeted.
Along with Ghazipur border, farmers have been sitting at Haryana's Singhu and Tikri border since November 26. 2020, in protest against the three agriculture laws.