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A few days following the 'Dilli Chalo' call by farmers, a faction breaking away from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and central trade unions initiated their long-anticipated Gramin Bharat Bandh on Friday.

The Gramin Bharat Bandh commenced at 6 am and is scheduled to conclude at 4 pm, with farmers participating in a widespread chakka jam on main roads across the nation from 12 pm. In Punjab, the closure of most state and national highways is expected for four hours.

The Bharat Bandh, called by farmer unions on Friday, received a varied response in the Mohali district, with many shops open in towns such as Kharar, Mohali, Zirakpur, and Kurali.

The farmer unions declared the Bharat Bandh in support of their ongoing protest. Arvind Kumar, the proprietor of an auto repair shop in the Lakhnaur area of Mohali, mentioned that some individuals had announced the closure of shops in the evening on Thursday. However, when they opened their shop in the morning, no objections were raised, and they continued working as usual.

The farmer bodies have called for the takeover of all toll plazas in the state from 12 noon to 3 pm on Friday to express discontent against the police lathi charge on agitating farmers along the Punjab borders as part of their 'Dilli Chalo' protest.

In anticipation of the 'Bharat Bandh' called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), Delhi Police is on high alert, and security has been heightened in the national capital. Officials stated that traffic might be affected in several areas with barricades set up. The SKM called for the 'Bharat Bandh' to press the BJP-led central government to meet farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The two border points between Delhi and Haryana remained closed to traffic, with substantial deployment of security personnel in anti-riot gear. Traffic movement is permitted at the Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh. Delhi Police has increased vigilance, placing barricades in central parts of the city leading to the Parliament and other sensitive locations.

Heavy security deployment is observed at the Singhu and Tikri borders, where multiple layers of barricades, barbed wires, and concrete blocks have been set up to prevent farmers from entering the national capital. Drones are deployed by Delhi Police to monitor the situation at the Singhu border, and over 30,000 tear gas shells have been ordered from the Border Security Force's (BSF) Tear Smoke Unit.