Farmers’ Movement Threatens Businesses, Raises Concerns of Severe Economic Damage

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 17th Feb. The tremors of farmer’s agitation and their march from Punjab to Delhi is being felt from the kitchen to the business. In order to prevent farmers from entering Punjab, the state government has completely closed all the borders on Monday. All buses going to Punjab from all districts have been stopped. After the Ambala-Amritsar National Highway remained closed for three days, now the Himachal and Hisar-Chandigarh National Highways have also been closed. After the Tikri border in Delhi, the movement of heavy vehicles ceased from the Kundli border. As a consequence of this circumstance, the importation and exportation of vegetables, fruits, and other ration items originating from Delhi, Punjab, and Himachal is prohibited. There exists a potential for a loss of thousands of crores to the market of the country on a daily basis due to transportation disruptions caused by the movement of farmers. If no solution is found, then there is a risk of serious damage to the economy.

Numerous trucks have become stranded on the roads

Numerous trucks routed to Delhi from Punjab are presently stranded on the roads. The trucks that departed from Jalandhar on February 9 have yet to arrive in Delhi. Within two days, more than 4 thousand trucks have stopped inside Ludhiana. These containers are laden with valuable items such as clothing, Aloha, hand-tools, sewing machines, and sports equipment valued at crores of rupees, and are intended to be transported to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Kolkata via Delhi. Due to the farmers’ movement, there is a possibility that business worth Rs 500 crore will be affected daily.

#WATCH | Delhi | Drone visuals show the security arrangements at Tikri Border, in view of the farmers' protest. pic.twitter.com/FJXyQtWbdY

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2024

The primary issue confronting truck owners has risen

Since the farmers’ movement, the problems of truck owners have increased the most. Truck owners who have loaded their vehicles with goods cannot return them to the customers or deliver their goods to the destination, so they have parked the loaded trucks on one side of Transport Nagar. The task is complete. Although trucks have the option to travel to Maharashtra via Bathinda, the lengthy route results in a significant increase in cost, which may not be appealing to customers who are not prepared to fork out such a substantial sum.

Company owners are also concerned

However, the problems of companies that have loaded goods into trucks to send to other states have also increased considerably. Due to changing weather patterns, there is a lot of moisture, which increases the possibility of sports goods items becoming spoiled. Hence, the proprietors of these enterprises are also deeply concerned. If this movement continues for a long time, they will have to slow down dispatch as well as production. This will also have a direct impact on the labor force working in companies.

#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister Arjun Munda who is also negotiating with farmer leaders speaks on Farmers' protest.

He says, "…I would like to urge all the leaders from different farmers' organizations to cooperate and communicate so that the common people shouldn't have to… pic.twitter.com/vcrg0YaY4Y

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2024

Transporters Surendra Singh Alwar and Gurpreet Singh have stated that approximately 50 vehicles belonging to their fleet are presently parked in a queue and are not suitable for transportation. All of them are laden with merchandise. The companies that hold the goods are inquired whether they would be willing to pay a higher rate for the shipment if it were to be transported via a longer route, to which they vehemently decline. Therefore, the trucks have been brought to Transport Nagar and parked there.

If the transporter’s truck is idle for a day or two, he may face financial difficulties because he will have to pay monthly instalments. If the movement continues for a long time, this month’s instalment will have to be paid out of pocket. However, daily wage labourers and truck drivers say that if this movement continues for a long time, they will face a shortage of food and drink.

#WATCH | Farmers' protest | Tear gas shells fired to disperse the agitating farmers who were approaching the Police barricade.

Visuals from Shambhu Border. pic.twitter.com/AnROqRZfTQ

— ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2024

The effect will be visible in the prices

A substantial quantity of fruits and vegetables are procured for Delhi from Punjab, North-East Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu Kashmir. Despite the farmers’ march in Punjab, fruits and vegetables are taking time to reach Delhi. Trucks are required to undertake extensive travel. If this trend persists, it is anticipated that the prices of fruits and vegetables will experience a significant impact in the upcoming three to four days, as transporters are preparing to increase their freight charges. It is evident that as the distance increases, the freight will increase, resulting in an increase in prices.

A loss of 500 crores was recorded

As per Hemant Gupta, the General Secretary of the Indian Industry Trade Board, a substantial quantity of goods are transported between Delhi and the rest of the country via Punjab. Due to the farmers coming on the streets, it is estimated that transactions worth about Rs 500 crore will be affected per day, which will also result in a huge economic loss.