Farmers make Ladhowal toll plaza free over delay in repairing roads

Expressing anger against the delay in repairing dilapidated roads in the Sahnewal area, farmers on Sunday laid a siege to the Ladhowal toll barrier on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar highway and allowed vehicles to pass without paying any fee.

Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Union arrived at the toll plaza around 1:30 pm. After about one hour, farmers lifted the protest as Sahnewal SDM Jasneet Kaur and DCP Harpal Singh reached the spot and assured the farmers that the repair works would start from Monday onwards.

Earlier, toll plaza manager Vipan met the farmers. He pleaded with folded hands not to make the toll plaza toll free. He said: “We support the farmers but we have nothing to do with other roads. You should talk to the DC in this regard.”

Meanwhile, the police remained on alert due to the farmers’ protest. Personnel from around three police stations and police outposts were deployed around the plaza.

SDM Jasneet Kaur said some residents from the Rahon Road area had come to the toll plaza and demanded that the road be repaired as it was in a bad condition. Many street vendors encroach upon space along the road, causing inconvenience to commuters. The Deputy Commissioner has already ordered removal of the encroachments.

The SDM said now, as per public demand, the road work would begin on Monday. Repair of other broken roads would also be done. Funds for the road constructions had already been approved, only the project had been slightly modified.

Dilbag Singh Gill, another member of the union, said the condition of roads from Mangali village to Ladhowal toll was bad, due to which people were facing problems. The condition of Rahon Road was also bad due to which commuting on the stretch was a nightmare. Meanwhile, in the evening, the stretch from Mangli village to Basti Jodhewal Chowk witnessed traffic jams due to encroachments by street vendors.