New Delhi Sep 27 PTI Markets remained open and business activities were unaffected in the national capital though massive traffic snarls were witnessed in border areas due to road blockades by protesters and security checks by police during the Bharat Bandh on Monday called by farmers against the Centres three agri laws The auto and taxi unions as well as several traders bodies extended only in-principle support to the Bharat Bandh and did not join the strike saying their livelihood has already been hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown Parts of the national capital witnessed traffic snarls in morning hours as police closed some key roads to prevent any untoward incident during the bandh Commuters faced difficulty while crossing the city borders Thousands of cars were lined bumper-to-bumper along the Gurgaon-Delhi border on Monday morning as police personnel were checking vehicles entering the national capital and it took some hours before the traffic movement returned to normal The traffic on the DND flyover which connects to Uttar Pradesh was also affected The Ghazipur border was closed for vehicular movement for a few hours and the whole traffic was diverted to DND and Apsara border for Noida and Ghaziabad respectively There was chaos on one carriageway of the national highway coming from Ghazipur border to Sarai Kale Khan near Akshardham Mandir in the morning hours Farmer leader Yogendra Yadav apologised to those who were affected due to the blockade saying Please bear with us The Samyukta Kisan Morcha SKM a united forum of farmer unions protesting the three farm laws claimed its call for a Bharat Bandh received an unprecedented and historic response from more than 23 states and not a single untoward incident was reported from anywhere Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday requested the Centre to consider the demands of farmers protesting against the three farm laws saying it will not be bowing down before anyone if it does so We are celebrating the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh He made the supreme sacrifice for the freedom of the nation He did not fight for freedom for a day when farmers have to sit on the streets and protest for a year to get their demands considered he said Meanwhile a section of trade unions and civil society groups held a protest at Jantar Mantar in solidarity with farmers The protesters held banners of Long Live Farmers Unity and demanded the repeal of the agri laws and equal opportunities for all In view of farmers Bharat Bandh the Delhi Police increased security checks at its border points which led to the slowing down of traffic and it informed commuters about road closures and traffic snarls on Twitter According to police roads around the historic Red Fort which witnessed violent clashes during a farmers tractor rally on January 26 as well as the dual carriageway at the Ghazipur border were closed for traffic In the evening hours these road stretches were opened for traffic movement A traffic jam was witnessed at the Kalindi Kunj flyover while it was moving slowly on the DND flyway a senior police officer said About 50 trains were affected due to the Bharat Bandh More than 20 locations had been blocked in Delhi Ambala and Firozpur divisions About 50 trains were affected due to this All train movement is normal since 430 PM a spokesperson for the Northern Railway said However autorickshaws and taxis plied normally and shops were open in the city Previously also we had supported Bharat Bandh by the farmers but continued to ply our autos and taxis This time also we are in support of genuine farmers but we are not on strike because our members are in deep distress due to shrinking earnings in pandemic times said Rajender Soni the general secretary of the Delhi Auto Taxi Union The Sarvoday Driver Association of Delhi representing many drivers of cab aggregator platforms also supported the farmers but did not join the strike We are in support of the farmers but our work was affected due to the pandemic and we cannot afford to go in their support by striking said Kamaljeet Gill president of the Association Other auto and taxi unions expressed the same sentiment According to the Azadpur Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee said that supply was unaffected as trucks transporting fruits and vegetables usually reach the Mandis a day in advance The next arrival would be on Monday night Markets and shops were open as farmers have not contacted our associations for any strike said Brijesh Goyal chairman of the Chamber of Trade and IndustryCTI Also the festival season is approaching and it is time for traders to recover some of the losses they faced due to the pandemic and lockdown We do support the farmers and urge the government to meet their demand he said Confederation of All India Traders CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said there was no effect of the Bandh on the markets across the country including Delhi All the markets including in Delhi remained fully open and business activities in the markets went on as normal We have advised the farmer leaders to leave the path of struggle and find ways to negotiate with the government he said PTI VIT NIT ASG SLB GJS GVS AKM BUN BUN RT RT

New Delhi Sep 27 PTI Markets remained open and business activities were largely unaffected in the national capital on Monday though massive traffic snarls were witnessed in border areas due to road blockades by protesters and security checks by police during the Bharat Bandh called by farmers against the Centres three agri laws The auto and taxi unions as well as several traders bodies extended only in-principle support to the Bharat Bandh and decided not to join the strike saying their livelihood has already been hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdownA section of trade unions and civil society groups held a protest at Jantar Mantar in solidarity with the Bandh called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha the umbrella body of over 40 farm unions spearheading the farmers agitationThe protesters held banners of Long Live Farmers Unity and demanded the repeal of the agri laws and equal opportunities for all Parts of the national capital witnessed traffic snarls in morning hours as police closed some key roads to prevent any untoward incident during the bandh Commuters faced difficulty while crossing the city borders especially the Delhi-Gurgaon borderThe traffic on DND was also affected The Ghazipur border is closed for vehicular movement and the whole traffic is being diverted to DND and Apsara border for Noida and Ghaziabad respectivelyThere was chaos on one carriageway of the national highway coming from Ghazipur border to Sarai Kale Khan near Akshardham Mandir The Delhi Police increased security checks at its border points which led to the slowing down of traffic and it informed commuters about road closures and traffic snarls on TwitterAccording to police roads around the historic Red Fort which witnessed violent clashes during a farmers tractor rally on January 26 as well as the dual carriageway at the Ghazipur border were closed for trafficThe traffic is heavy at the Kalindi Kunj flyover and Kalindi Kunj metro station while it is moving slowly on DND flyway The traffic is also heavy at Rajokri toll plaza as the local police have set up a checkpoint for vehicles a senior police official said ADelhi Metro station near Tikri Border one of the sites of the ongoing farmers protests was also closed for security reasonsin view of the Bandh The station in Haryana --PanditShree RamSharma-- falls on the Green Line of the network According to Railway officials about 25 trains have been affected due to the Bharat Bandh including Delhi-Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab New Delhi-Moga Express Old Delhi-Payhajot Express Vande Bharat Express from New Delhi to Katra and Amritsar Shatabdi More than 20 locations are being blocked in Delhi Ambala and Firozpur divisions About 25 trains are affected due to this a spokesperson for the Northern Railway saidAutorickshaws and taxis plied normally and shops were open Previously also we had supported Bharat Bandh by the farmers but continued to ply our autos and taxis This time also we are in support of genuine farmers but we are not on strike because our members are in deep distress due to shrinking earnings in pandemic times said Rajender Soni the general secretary of the Delhi Auto Taxi UnionThe Sarvoday Driver Association of Delhi representing many drivers of cab aggregator platforms also supported the farmers but did not join the strikeWe are in support of the farmers but our work was affected due to the pandemic and we cannot afford to go in their support by striking said Kamaljeet Gill president of the AssociationOther auto and taxi unions expressed the same sentimentWe fully support the farmers But in view of the financial crisis faced by us due to COVID we are extending our moral and in-principle support to them and their demand while working normally said Anuj Rathor secretary of the Rashtriya Rajdhani Kshetra Auto Drivers AssociationMarkets and shops in the city were open as farmers have not contacted our associations for any strike said Brijesh Goyal chairman of the Chamber of Trade and IndustryCTI Also the festival season is approaching and it is time for traders to recover some of the losses they faced due to the pandemic and lockdown We do support the farmers and urge the government to meet their demand he saidConfederation of All India Traders CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said there was no effect of the Bandh on the markets across the country including DelhiAll the markets including in Delhi remained fully open and business activities in the markets went on as normal We have advised the farmer leaders to leave the path of struggle and find ways to negotiate with the government he saidTo mark one year since the laws were passed farmer organisations had called a Bharat Bandh on Monday from 6 AM to 4 PMThe three laws -- The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce Promotion and Facilitation Act 2020 The Farmers Empowerment and Protection Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and The Essential Commodities Amendment Act 2020 -- were passed by Parliament in September last yearThe government has projected them as major reforms but the unions allege that the laws will leave the farmers at the mercy of big corporates and have been protesting on Delhis borders since November last year PTI VIT NIT ASG SLB GJS RT