COMMUTERS HAVING harrowing times visiting Punjab and going outside the state as not only Haryana but Rajasthan too has sealed its borders with Punjab, even as Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) have stated that they will announce the next course of action on February 29.
On February 8,Haryana started sealing its borders with Punjab, while Rajasthan sealed its borders with Punjab in two districts of Ganganagar and Hanumangarh on February 11. Seventeen days have passed since Haryana sealed borders with Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, Fazilka, Patiala, Sangrur and Mohali districts and 14 days since Rajasthan closed its borders to Fazilka and Bathinda from Hanumangarh and Ganganagar sides.
Pushpinder Singh, an industrialist based in Ludhiana, said, “Traffic diversions in the absence of mobile internet has made commutation very difficult. How long this is going to be there is still not clear.”
JP Aggarwal, president of the Ludhiana Goods and Transport Association, said, “On their way to Delhi from Ludhiana, truckers have to turn towards Panchkula after reaching Rajpura, and then they follow the route to Delhi. They have to travel over 100km extra. Car drivers have to follow the same route if they want to avoid travelling through villages.”
Dilli Chalo dharna is going on at the Shambhu border on the main highway connecting Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana (in Punjab), Ambala (Haryana) cities with Delhi. Another dharna is going on at Datta Singhwala – Khanauri bordering Patiala and Jind districts of Punjab and Haryana, respectively.
The dharna site is very close to Sangrur district in Punjab. These two dharnas have been organised by the KMM and the SKM (Non-political). The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda), which is not a part of the Dilli Chalo agitation, launched the third dharna on the Bathinda-Dabwali road on February 21 in solidarity with the protesting farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri.
“The rest of the roads are free from dharnas but still blocked. As internet services are suspended in several parts of Punjab and Haryana, commuters are facing inconvenience,” said Jairup Singh, a resident of Sangrur. When the border at Khanauri was sealed, residents had no idea about traffic diversions. Now, they move from one village to another to reach Narwana town for an onward journey.
Meanwhile, traffic in villages close to the Shambhu border has increased. Many villagers have even made handwritten signages on cardboard for the convenience of commuters. “They follow kuchha sadak (unmetalled road) which is dangerous in night hours,” said Karnail Singh standing near a diversion in Sanjarpur village. People living in Fazilka, Bathinda and Muktsar are hit the most.
Darshan Singh from Giddranwali village in Abohar said, “Now we go to Delhi via Panchkula, covering 350 km extra. There is no dharna here, but our borders with Haryana and Rajasthan have been sealed.
Vehicles are going through villages, making villagers upset about increasing traffic.” Balkar Singh from Usmankhera village in Aboharsaid,“ Traffic diversions have been causing big problems in our area. Narrow village lanes are never free from traffic.”
Interestingly, a dhabha near Usmankhera village has deployed a small tempo to guide customers through villages to the main road. “By car, you have to travel an extra 20-30 km through villages, but heavy vehicles have to go via Panchkula,” said Sukhmander Singh from Fazilka.
