Shops closed, Chandigarh Mayor Ravi Kant Sharma’s visit rattles locals

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19

As city Mayor Ravi Kant Sharma today visited Sector 45 to inaugurate a couple of civic projects, the road starting from Government Model School of Sector 45, right next to the traffic light point of Sector 44-45, was blocked and barricaded by the Chandigarh Police.

Not just the road, but also 40-odd shops of Ekta Market in the sector were shut down for at least three hours.

Heavy police force was also deployed along the road leading to the T-point of Sector 45 Community Centre. A ‘car-checking naka’ was laid near the entrance of Civil Hospital of Sector 45.

Though the shopkeepers criticised the shutting down of shops, they “feared a backlash if they came out in public about their opinions”.

Bharat Bhushan, president, Ekta Market Association, said, “People have been bothered as the shops were closed even during Covid. This isn’t justified, even though it has been done for security reasons. Business has suffered.”

Some farm activists gathered in small numbers to stage a symbolic protest in Burail on a call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha to protest at BJP’s programmes, but they were stopped using barricades.