PRTC staff block road after clash with Azizpur toll plaza workers

Zirakpur, August 21

Road users were inconvenienced for around three hours this morning after a clash between staff of the PRTC and the Azizpur toll plaza.

Commuters travelling on the Chandigarh-Patiala highway had to walk for about 5 km at the Chhat light point to take alternative modes of transportation. The PRTC staff blocked the highway by parking their vehicles in the middle of the road for about three hours. Local residents said an altercation took place between a bus driver and the toll plaza staff after a truck had blocked the passage at the plaza. An argument broke out between the toll plaza workers and the bus staff, which soon turned into a fight.

Toll plaza employee Manoj Rana said, “A car got stuck at the plaza as there was some delay in the transaction. Close to 10 employees of the PRTC gathered and thrashed our worker.”

On being asked about the allegations levelled by the PRTC staff that it was the plaza staff who attacked them first, Rana said, “The entire incident has been captured on CCTV and can be verified. They had slapped an employee earlier also but the matter was resolved later.”

Later, the PRTC staff reportedly staged a protest by blocking the road. The police reached there and pacified both groups. The police said they had recorded the statements of both groups and started further action. They got the road cleared in the afternoon.