Commuters take detours in Mohali

Mohali, November 27

With the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) protest entering its second day today, uncertainty prevailed among commuters of the tricity about the smooth movement of traffic.

Relief for Jagatpura, Faidan residents

Expecting barricades on the Airport Road, most road users took detours to reach their respective destinations. The police allowed only the residents of Jagatpura and Faidan villages to cross the barricades after verifying their IDs.

Expecting barricades on the Airport Road, most road users took detours to reach their destinations. The police allowed only the residents of Jagatpura and Faidan villages to cross the barricades after verifying their IDs.

On Mohali side, an ambulance, carrying a child, coming from Dera Bassi to GMCH-32, crossed four checkpoints before it was stopped at the protest site early in the morning. Neither the police nor the protesters diverted it beforehand. “The miffed ambulance driver had to take a U-turn,” said an eyewitness.

The Chandigarh traffic police said keeping in view the law and order situation, there was the probability of traffic diversion as per the ground situation on the Madhya Marg near Housing Board light point and the Purav Marg.

Even though traffic has been disrupted on the main road near a busy commercial centre, the Mohali police, unlike the Chandigarh police, did not feel the need to issue traffic advisories, public notices, latest diversions or realtime updates for the past two days. The social media handles of the Mohali police, too, have no such updates.

Meanwhile, the number of protesters swelled at the protest site near Mohali-Chandigarh border today with women and youngsters in sizeable numbers reaching there. The stage at the protest site kept buzzing the whole day as farmer leaders addressed the gathering. The protesters expressed confidence that the crowd will get bigger tomorrow with farmers leaving for the protest site after the Gurpurb celebrations.

Quami Insaaf Morcha near the YPS Chowk also came alive today with a buzz at the site. Several leaders deliver speeches in front of a small gathering in the evening. They exhorted the protesters to keep the struggle going for the release of Bandi Singhs.