Chakka jam brings Punjab to a grinding halt for hours
Commuters have a tough time even as ambulances and marriage processions were allowed passage through protest sites
AMRITSAR/LUDHIANA/JALANDHAR/BATHINDA/PATIALA : Farmers and their supporters on Saturday blocked key highways and link roads across Punjab as part of the nationwide ‘chakka’ jam call given by the farm unions spearheading the agitation against the Centre’s agriculture laws.
Commuters had a tough time even as ambulances and marriage processions were allowed passage through the protest sites.
In Amritsar city, the protesters holding placards and banners staged dharnas at Golden Gate, Gumtala Chowk, Rialto Chowk, Mirankot Chowk, Tarn Taran Road, Bhandari Bridge, Fatehgarh Churian bypass and near Alpha One Mall among other places
In the neighbouring Tarn Taran district’s Rasoolpur village, farmers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) laid siege to the national highway leading to Bathinda. They didn’t allow passage to any vehicle for at least three hours and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some business tycoons.
Link roads blocked Besides, link roads in the district’s Chabhal, Bhikhiwind, Goindwal Sahib, Sarhali, Harike and Dayalpura villages were also blocked. Hundreds of women also participated in the protests.
Several routes were also blocked in neighbouring towns of Batala and Gurdaspur.
In the Ludhiana district too, the ‘chakka jam’ call got a massive response. Activists of various farmer unions blocked the Ladhowal toll plaza on the National Highway- 44. Large numbers of men, women and children from villages near Phillaur, Kadian, Nawanshahr and Garhshanker towns laid siege on the highway. Protests were also staged by Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) activists near Verka milk plant and a shopping mall on Ferozepur Road.
Similarly, protesters squatted on GT Road near Bija village of
Khanna and at the Gahaur toll plaza near Samrala town.
However, no incident of violence was reported.
BKU (Lakhowal) general secretary Harinder Lakhowal, who returned from the Singhu border in Delhi to join the protests, said the way the government was treating its own citizens like enemies. “Barricades and spikes have been installed at the protest site. Whosoever crosses to the other side is being arrested and booked for rioting,” said Lakhowal.
Protests were also witnessed in Raikot and Jagraon.
Students, doctors, teachers come out in support
In Patiala district, students’ unions and associations of doctors and teachers came out in support of the farmers and gathered at the Shambu barrier on the Jalandhar-delhi national highway. The farmers also blocked roads at Rajpura, Patran, Samana and Nabha. Jung Singh, district president of Krantikari Kisan Union, said the farmers were receiving a huge response from people all around the state.
In Sangrur district, farmers blocked roads in Lehra, Moonak, Ladda and Kalajhar toll plazas besides Sangrur town. In Barnala, the protesters staged sit-ins on the roads leading to Moga, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Mansa and Faridkot. The BKU (Ekta-ugrahan) faction held separate protests.
Women in large numbers raised slogans against the BJP government at the Centre. Bhajan Kaur, a protester, said, “When Punjabis go to the borders of China and Pakistan, they are called heroes. But the protesters are being labelled as terrorists.”
In the Doaba region, the farmer and labour unions, including BKU (Rajewal), Kirti Kisan Union and others, blocked the national and state highways.
In Jalandhar city, a large dharna was held on PAP flyover.
In Bathinda, Mansa, Fazilka and other adjoining towns of southern Punjab, a large number of villagers, including women, blocked national and state highways.
Several trade unions also came out in support of the farmers. The protesters blocked roads at Malout, Ferozepur and Faridkot.
In Bathinda, the farmer unions blocked traffic at five places, including Sangat, Maur and Rampura. Private bus operators had already announced the suspension of services in solidarity with the farmer unions.