Hoshiarpur grinds to a halt as farmers protest

Hoshiarpur and its surrounding areas came to a complete standstill on the call of a Punjab bandh organised by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha.

During the protest, farmers raised slogans against the BJP-led central government, demanding immediate attention to their issues.

The bandh led to widespread disruption, with traffic in the city coming to a halt and markets remaining deserted, causing significant inconvenience to the general public.

Key road junctions, including Purhiran Bypass, Chandigarh Bypass, Tanda Bypass, Adda Baghpur, Adda Mehtiana, and Tanda Chowk, were completely blocked for heavy vehicles, leading to severe traffic congestion.

Though emergency services were exempted from the blockade, ordinary commuters faced immense difficulty due to the heavy traffic jams.

In addition to road blockades, the farmers also disrupted rail services by staging a sit-in on the tracks, further affecting passengers traveling to distant destinations throughout the day.

Several shops and banks that had initially remained open during the bandh were later shut down by the protesting farmer organisations. The Doaba General Category Front, along with other farmers’ organisations, staged a sit-in protest at Adda Mehtiana. Prominent leaders, including Front President Balveer Singh Phuglana, Surjit Singh Bhungarni, and Mahinder Singh, former Sarpanch of Mukhaliana, expressed their dissatisfaction with the central government’s disregard for farmers’ demands.

At the same time, Bharatiya Kisan Union Doaba President Manjit Singh Rai and Azad Kisan Committee Doaba President Harpal Singh Sangha led another protest at Purhiran Bypass on the Hoshiarpur-Phagwara road.

The farmer leaders raised slogans against the government, claiming that the promises made during the farmers’ struggle were not being fulfilled. They also highlighted the ongoing fast by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on hunger strike for nearly a month to press the government’s attention on the farmers’ demands.

Meanwhile, the Azad Kisan Sangharsh Committee Doaba, under the leadership of Working President Harpreet Singh Lali, Senior Vice President Jaspal Singh Raja, and Patron Gurdeep Singh Khun-Khun, organised a blockade at the local Tanda Bypass.

The protesters raised strong slogans against the central government, vowing that their struggle would continue until their demands were addressed.

The bandh, which caused significant disruption throughout Hoshiarpur and neighbouring regions, underscored the farmers’ deepening frustration with the lack of progress on issues they had been raising for months.

As tensions remain high, farmer leaders have reiterated their commitment to continuing the protests until the government addresses their grievances.