Thousands of commuters, schoolchildren and office-goers bore the brunt of the UT administration and Chandigarh police’s decision to allow a 25,000-strong farmers’ rally through the city on Friday, as major roads, including the Madhya Marg and those around Sectors 17 and 34, remained choked for hours.
The rally, organised by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Ugrahan faction) against various agrarian policies, began at the Sector 34 exhibition ground and culminated at Matka Chowk before returning to the original convergence point.
While the Sector 34 ground is the designated venue for state-level demonstrations, allowing such a massive procession to move through the heart of the city during the monsoon – when traffic disruptions are already common – left many questioning the administration’s planning. The city had received 90mm overnight rains, which left several road stretches muddied and waterlogged, adding to commuters’ woes.
Although the police had issued traffic advisories and worked out diversions in advance, it did little to mitigate the chaos given the sheer volume of vehicles. Farmers had brought over 100 buses, besides tractors, SUVs and other vehicles carrying protesters.
The traffic disruptions began around 10 am when farmers started assembling at the exhibition. As they started marching towards Matka Chowk, police put up barricades and halted traffic along the route until nearly 3 pm, intermittently opening the stretches to ease congestion.
{{/usCountry}}The traffic disruptions began around 10 am when farmers started assembling at the exhibition. As they started marching towards Matka Chowk, police put up barricades and halted traffic along the route until nearly 3 pm, intermittently opening the stretches to ease congestion.
{{/usCountry}}The disruption peaked during school closure timings between 1 pm and 2 pm.
Shabeg Virk, a resident of Sector 33, said he had to divert through the Sector 32/33 dividing road after the Sector 34 stretch was blocked, only to encounter a road damaged by heavy rain. “I was fortunate to be driving an SUV. Smaller cars and auto-rickshaws were getting stuck. What is usually a short drive to Sector 17 took me nearly an hour,” he said.
Federation of Sector Welfare Associations Chandigarh (FOSWAC) chairperson Baljinder Singh Bittu said his children, whose school ended at 2.30 pm, reached their home in Sector 21 only at 4.30 pm. “Why were the farmers allowed to march inside the city? It appears to be a pick-and-choose approach, especially with the Punjab Assembly elections due in the coming months,” he said, adding that the administration should revisit its traffic management strategy ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit next week.
Independent Schools Association president HS Mamik said schools faced severe disruption, with buses stranded for hours while anxious parents repeatedly sought updates.
“The administration must be held accountable for permitting such disruption without considering its impact on residents,” he said, adding that if traffic management cannot be ensured during the PM’s visit on July 17, the administration should consider declaring a holiday for schools.
The traffic snarls also drew criticism on social media. Vivek Sood posted on Chandigarh Traffic Police’s X handle that it took him more than 45 minutes to travel from a hotel in Sector 35 to Sector 22 – a journey that ordinarily takes only a few minutes.
A senior police officer said that farmers had permission for the rally and adequate traffic personnel had been deployed along the designated route. The officer, however, admitted that managing such a large convoy was challenging.
Permissions for such rallies are granted by the UT administration based on police recommendations. UT senior superintendent of police Kanwardeep Kaur and deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.
Friday’s march was an eerie reminder of the farmers’ march to Panjab University, from Sector 34, last year, during the agitation for senate elections.