Amid the ongoing 'Delhi Chalo' protest march called by over 200 farmer unions, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) along with central trade unions have called for a nationwide strike today.
The SKM has urged all like-minded farmer organisations to take part in the nationwide Gramin Bharat Bandh. The day-long protest has been scheduled to take place between 6 AM to 4 PM.
What are likely to get impacted by the nationwide bandh?
As per reports, disruption is expected in transportation, agricultural activities, MNREGA rural works, private offices, village shops, and rural industrial and service sector institutions owing to the strike.
Support coming from public intellectuals
Extending support toward the agitating farmers, a number of public intellectuals and artists have issued a joint statement on Wednesday. As per a report by Hindustan Times, 34 people have signed the joint statement.
The list of the dignataries include names like economist Prabhat Patnaik, historian Irfan Habib, economic historian Nasir Tyabji, cultural activist Anil Chandra, and eminent journalist P Sainath.
"The Central Trade Unions (CTUs) and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) have given a united call for an Industrial/Sectoral Strike and Grameen Bharat Bandh on 16 February. They have joined forces to launch united and coordinated struggles and bring together all sections of the labouring classes who face the severest brunt of the attack by the BJP-led government's pro-corporate, anti-people policies," the statement read.
