Road and rail transport was hit and several commercial establishments remained closed in parts of Punjab on Monday as farmers’ organisations called for a state-wide bandh to press the Centre for a legal guarantee for minimum support prices, The Hindu reported.

A minimum support price is the cost at which the government procures agricultural commodities from farmers.

The strike on Monday was called by farmer groups Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

Among the areas where protestors blocked roads were the Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza on the Patiala-Chandigarh National Highway, Amritsar’s Golden Gate and Bhatinda’s Rampura Phul.

The farm leaders also announced that they would block railway tracks in 50 locations. This affected 232 trains, out of which 174 – including the Shatabdi and Vande Bharat trains – had to be cancelled, The Indian Express reported.

Later on Monday, a committee formed by the Supreme Court to resolve the grievances of the protesting farmers invited the Samyukta Kisan Morcha for talks on January 3, The Indian Express reported.

The committee, headed by retired High Court judge Nawab Singh, was set up in September.

The farmer outfit has accepted the invitation for the talks, Raminder Singh Patiala, a member of its national coordination committee, told The Indian Express. He added that matters such as the demand for a minimum support price would be discussed during the meeting.

Besides a legal guarantee for minimum support prices, the farmers have also been demanding the implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission’s wider recommendations for farming in India, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, a farm debt waiver, the reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and justice for victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The protestors have alleged that the Centre has not taken steps to address their demands, claiming that no talks have been held since February 18.

On Monday, farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has entered the 35th day of his indefinite hunger strike that began on November 26. He has refused medical treatment so far.

The Supreme Court has given the Punjab government until December 31 to convince Dallewal to shift to a hospital.