In pics: North India stand still as farmers take on streets amid Bharat Bandh

Protesting farmers stay put at the two borders of Punjab and Haryana over their various demands as the deadlock persisted despite the third round of talks with a panel of Union ministers.

The security forces deployed at the Shambhu Border continued to hold resistance to the agitating farmers attempting to enter the national capital as the protests entered the fourth day on Friday.

Protesting farmers kept a toll plaza free for three hours on Friday at Kurukshetra highway in Haryana to show support for the ongoing protest by several farmers' organisations.

Expressing solidarity with the protesting farmers, the employees of state-owned Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and private public transport bus operators in Punjab on Friday went on strike, leaving many commuters stranded as over 5,000 buses stayed off the roads. The impact of the shutdown from 6 am to 4 pm was also seen in neighbouring Haryana as shops and commercial establishments stayed closed. Petroleum dealers in Punjab closed filling stations to back the call for the shutdown. The activists of several farmer associations were seen asking traders at several places in the AAP-ruled Punjab to keep their shops and business establishments closed to mark the protest.

Delhi Police is on high alert and security has been tightened in the national capital in view of the 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), officials said on Friday. Traffic may be affected in the national capital with barricades put up in several areas.

A 63-year-old farmer, who was among the farmers protesting at the Shambhu border near Haryana's Ambala, died of a heart attack on Friday. Gian Singh complained of chest pain in the morning and was taken to the Civil Hospital in Punjab's Rajpura. From there, he was rushed to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, where doctors declared him brought dead, they said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday detained 50 trade union leaders and activists who were planning to hold a protest at Lal Chowk here in support of the demands of agitating farmers. The protest was planned in response to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha's call for a 'Bharat Bandh' to press the government to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

​Amid farmer unions call for a Bharat Bandh protest today, traders are poised to continue their business operations uninterrupted, reaffirming their "commitment to serving communities and maintaining economic stability." BC Bhartia, President, and Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that traders will keep their establishments open during the Bharat Bandh, emphasising their role in ensuring the availability of essential goods and services to the public, asserting their right to conduct business and support the economy.

Security forces initiated a Mock drill as the Bharat Bandh call has come amid Delhi Chalo protest by hundreds of farmers, who are marching from Haryana, Punjab, and have been stopped at the Haryana borders near Ambala.

Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at Thursday's meeting over the farmer unions' various demands, including a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also joined the meeting.

"The government had invited farmers' organisations for a meeting (yesterday). They came and the meeting went well. It was decided that the next meeting will be held on Sunday. I believe that talks will be held in a good atmosphere on Sunday too and we will proceed towards resolution of these issues," Union minister Anurag Thakur said on the ongoing farmers' protest.