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Multiple protests cause traffic chaos on Patiala roads
Multiple protests organised in Patiala choked the vehicular movement as many key roads were gridlocked on Monday. The major protests including a state-level protest by the contractual employees of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and other protest by District Congress Committee against attack at Nankana Sahib Gurdwara, left commuters hassled by causing frequent traffic snarls.
Despite police officials making elaborate arrangements to streamline vehicular movement in city, the traffic came to a virtual standstill on the main roads of the Royal City. Police found it a herculean task to smoothen the traffic flow.
Long traffic congestions were witnessed on Patiala-Sirhind road near Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib, Bhupindra road, Leela Bhawan Chowk, Children Memorial Chowk, Fountain Chowk, Chhoti Baradari, Mall road and lower Mall road.
Though traffic police tried to divert traffic flow through link roads but this turned out to be a failure for locals moving in and out of Patiala as they had to wait for several hours to reach their destinations.
“When police and the district administration knew about these protest, why didn’t they make adequate arrangements,” many commuters complained.
Parminder Singh, a commuter stuck in traffic, said, the district administration claimed to have imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in city, which prohibits an assembly of more than four persons, but it does not seem to have been executed on grounds level.
“Even the ambulances were seen struck in traffic jams on Monday,” he said.
Nankana Sahib row: Cong protests against Pak
The District Congress Committee, led by Patiala member Parliament (MP) Preneet Kaur, staged a protest against the unruly scenes at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, in the city on Monday.
The protesting Congress workers raised anti-Pakistan slogans and burnt an effigy of Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan near Fountain Chowk.
Terming the Nankana Sahib incident as unfortunate, Preneet said that they demand that the Pakistani government should ensure security of Sikhs and other minority communities residing in the neighbouring country.
“The Pakistani government should take punitive action against the perpetrators. Moreover, the Indian government should take up the issue strongly and build diplomatic pressure on Pakistan for safety of the Sikh community and its shrines there,” Preneet said.
PSPCL contractual employees hold statewide protests
The contractual employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) held state-level protests outside the PSPCL headquarters on Mall road in Patiala on Monday.
The employees, under the banners of several employee unions, from across state gathered at the headquarters with their children and other family members and raised slogans against the power corporation for not regularising their services.
Addressing the gathering, Jagroop Singh, general secretary of Technical Services Union, said that both the state government and the PSPCL management are hell-bent on promoting privatisation in working of the power corporation.
“The PSPCL has already threatened the livelihood of employees by shutting down public thermal plants. Moreover, instead of regularising the services of contractual employees, the PSPCL is hiring employees through outsourced companies,” he said.
The speakers claimed that the PSPCL contractual workers have not been paid according to ‘equal pay, equal work’ basis and their salaries have not been revised since January, 2016.