Ambedkar statue vandalism: Protesters block highway, commuters face trouble

Venting ire against the vandalism of a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Amritsar, members of the Dalit community on Tuesday blocked the national highway near the Jalandhar bypass here for a few hours.

Protesters in large numbers gathered on the highway and held a protest against the incident, demanding strict punishment for the culprit(s). The development was the outcome of a bandh call given by the Dalit community on Monday.

The impact of the bandh call was also seen in several markets in Ludhiana. Though most of the markets in the industrial hub were not shut, many prominent markets in old city areas such as Chaura Bazaar, Bhadaur House, railway road, Mata Rani Chowk, Clock Tower, Haibowal, Maal Road, Civil Lines and Ghumar Mandi were not opened by shopkeepers. The major garment selling spot in the city, ‘Akalgarh’ market, was open in the morning and during a march in city markets, the protesters forced traders to close their shops.

A large number of commuters were stranded on the national highway. A long queue of vehicles was witnessed on the highway. Police officials tried to convince the protesters to open the highway for traffic movement but they did not budge and the protest was lifted in the afternoon only.

Mewa Singh, a resident of the Rahon road, said he, along with his family members, was going to immerse the ashes of his mother in the Beas but their vehicle got stuck on the national highway due to the protest. “Our vehicle got stuck in the long queue of vehicles and we were left with no option to take any other route and unfortunately, we had to wait till the protest was lifted,” he said.

A groom going to solemnise marriage got stuck on a road due to traffic jam. His father Tarsem Singh said his son’s wedding was to be held in Amritsar, where all relatives of the bride’s side were waiting for the Baraat. He requested the protesters several times but nobody listened to him. Members of the wedding party said the bride’s side had made all preparations but they got stuck due to the traffic jam. Eventually, they found another option and left for Amritsar via another route through a village.

Amrit Kaur a woman, along with her two small children, was going to Khanna to meet her parents but due to the protest, she has to wait for hours in the bus that got stuck in the traffic on the highway.

BJP leaders flay incident

Local leaders of the BJP have condemned the incident of vandalising the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar by some miscreants on Republic Day at Heritage Street, Amritsar.

The BJP leaders on Tuesday held a protest march against the incident. The march started from Ambedkar Bhawan here and culminated near Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s statue at Jalandhar Bypass.

Anil Sarin, senior leader of the BJP, said the protest was held in a peaceful manner.

He said the law and order situation in the state was out of control. On Republic Day, such an incident occurred in the state and it depicts that the ruling government was weak and not able to control such acts. Rajnish Dhiman, president, Ludhiana BJP, said it was a shameful act and failure of the state government.