Bharat bandh: Mohali paralysed, commuters bear the brunt

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 27

A complete bandh was observed in Mohali district today in support of the call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) for Bharat Bandh against the three farm laws.

The 10-hour-long bandh crippled life as most shops and business establishments remained closed. Traffic was also disrupted, causing inconvenience to commuters.

The protesting farmers blocked the entry points to the district at Kharar, Banur, Lalru and Mullanpur near Siswan from 6 am to 4 pm.

The farmers also blocked the Chandigarh-Zirakpur border. Blockades were put up at the McDonald’s light point and the K-Area light point.

The airport road also remained out of bounds with blockades at Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan, Sohana, Aerocity, Sector 82, Sector 78-79 chowk and the Chhat village light point.

The farmers also blocked the Landran chowk, Mote Majra, Saneta and Derri village, connecting the airport road on the Kharar-Banur road.

The traffic movement on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway was also hit with the farmers blocking the arterial road at the Dappar toll plaza in Lalru.

Various resident welfare associations blocked roads in their respective areas to support the bandh call.

No vehicles, except ambulances and emergency services vehicles, were allowed to pass. The farmers also let air passengers, who were on their way to the Chandigarh international airport, to go through after checking their tickets. However, other passengers arriving into the district had to face harassment as they had to wait at the protesting sites for long hours.

Office-goers travelling to and from the tricity had a harrowing time criss-crossing the borders. The commuters had to take long detours and walk on foot to reach their destinations.

Some residents, however, found an ingenious way of commuting by cycle to avoid the blockades.

At the Chandigarh-Zirakpur border, police tailed the members of the farmers union to ensure that commuters were not harassed by the protesting youth.

Meanwhile, the bandh remained peaceful as the Mohali Beopar Mandal had extended an unconditional support to the farmers. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the district.

All government offices and banks were open but the attendance was thin.

Deputy Commissioner Isha Kalia said the bandh remained peaceful.

All emergency establishments and essential services remained open during the bandh, she said. “The farmers assembled on the highways and other key roads since morning and the agitation remained totally peaceful throughout the district,” said Kalia.

“Elaborate security arrangements were made to instill sense of security among people,” she added.

General Secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt), Harsukhinder Singh Babbi Badal; senior vice-president of the Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur) Mehar Singh Their; Kisan Union (Rajewal) leader Kulwant Singh Tripri; president of the Bharti Kisan Union (Charuni) Geetinder Singh Gill; and district president of the Bharti Kisan Union (Dakonda) Jagjit Singh were part of the protest.

While addressing the protesters, the farmer leaders said the farmers were sitting on dharna at the Singhu border near Delhi for the past 10 months against the farm laws.

More than 600 farmers have lost their lives during the protest and this will not go unnoticed, they said.

They also appealed to the farmers and workers to unite to wake up the “rulers from their deep slumber”.

“This is not just a farmers’ struggle, every citizen of the country needs to be a part of it,” said Harsukhinder Singh.

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