Barnala: Hundreds of farmers took out marches in Barnala and Sangrur districts on Saturday to protest the state government’s decision to impose a weekend lockdown for curbing the spread of coronavirus. Despite the farmer leaders’ appeals to shopkeepers, shops remained closed in both towns. In Barnala, the farmers assembled at the city railway station parking and took out a protest march through the markets, while in Sangrur, supporters of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha gathered near the railway station before marching through the town’s markets. Farmers associated with the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) marched from Sangrur grain market to smaller markets. “All farmer and labour unions participated in the protest against lockdown. Though we have been speaking against the lockdown since last year, the people of the state are not in a position to face another lockdown and it should be ended. The government should provide health services and recruit doctors to protect people from Covid-19,” said Balour Singh Channa, the Barnala block chief of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan). Asked about the poor response from shopkeepers, Channa said, “We are trying to motivate shopkeepers and educate them about the anti-people policies of the government.”