Residents of Samrala chowk protest mobile tower installation, block highway

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 12

Residents blocked the Delhi-Amritsar national highway near Samrala chowk on Thursday against the installation of a mobile tower in a residential area (Street number 5, Shakti Nagar).

Commuters faced huge inconvenience as they remained stuck in a long jam on the highway. Some of the commuters also had arguments with the protesters for holding up the traffic and not allowing them to pass.

“A mobile tower is being installed on the third floor of the house in Shakti Nagar and residents have been protesting the move for the past over a month. Residents had also met AAP MLA from the Ludhiana East constituency Daljit Grewal Bhola and asked him to stop the tower installation work. When we didn’t get any assurance from the MLA we blocked the highway,” said protesters.

Protesters alleged that if the tower is installed in the residential area, its rays would create health issues for the residents. The dharna was lifted after one and a half hours only when the house owner, where the tower is being installed, said they had stopped the installation work of the tower.