Zirakpur: Truckers continue protest, commuters bear the brunt
Tribune News Service
Mohali, December 17
Commuters faced harassment as the members of the All-India Truck Ekta Union blocked the Zirakpur-Patiala and Zirakpur-Dera Bassi road for about four hours on the second day today.
The commuters from Delhi could be seen standing outside their vehicles cursing the protesters and shouting at the police personnel for their failure to clear the traffic jam. The traffic on the Zirakpur flyover was also moving at a snail’s pace.
Harvinder Singh of Mayur Vihar in Delhi said he had reached Dera Bassi after driving continuously for four hours and now he had been stuck in the jam for more than two hours. He said the police should have taken steps to divert the traffic so that people were not stuck in the jam.
The Mohali police had already made elaborate arrangements for diverting the traffic from the Chhat village traffic lights to other routes to prevent a traffic jam but long queues of vehicles could be seen on the highway from Chandigarh to Zirakpur. The protesters had parked a truck diagonally at the crossing in Zirakpur to block the traffic movement towards the Chhat village.
Amandeep Singh, district vice-president of the All-India Truck Ekta Union, said they would continue to hold protest and block the traffic movement daily till their demands were not fulfilled. He said they demanded from the Channi government that these truck unions be revived besides increasing the rates of transport as truck operators were already suffering due to the economic shutdown.
Leader threatens state-level stir
Amandeep Singh, district vice-president of the All-India Truck Ekta Union, said if their demands were not met, then they would intensify their protest by holding a state level protest. The step to abolish the truck unions had created a syndicate which had monopolised the transport business, he added.
