Commuters held to ransom by protesters in Gurdaspur

Scores of passengers bound for the Amritsar airport were forced to miss their flights, tonnes of perishable goods, including fruit, piled in countless trucks decayed, several tourist buses on way to religious sites were stranded, and thousands of commuters travelling on the Amritsar-Gurdaspur-Pathankot National Highway (NH) were put to inconvenience as a group of nearly 300 protesters blocked the highway for about 48 hours.

The protesters alleged a middle-aged man, Ashu Mahajan, who worked as an accountant with a brick-kiln, died due to negligence at a private hospital near Babri bypass on the Gurdaspur-Batala NH. This spot later became the venue of the protests.

The kin of Mahajan said he was brought to the hospital two days ago after he complained of uneasiness. “He was brought for treatment of a minor ailment, but the doctors completely messed up the case, leading to his death. The doctors are squarely to blame for his death,” said a relative.

Nearly 300 protestors started the blockade, and within hours farmers’ unions and politicians, too, joined. For two days, traffic remained jammed on the NH even as several kilometre-long lines of vehicles were visible.

Ashu Mahajan’s relatives lifted the blockade after a financial deal was struck with the hospital management. “This means the protestors jammed the NH just to increase their bargaining prowess,” quipped a police officer at the site.