7-8 protests a day, CM Amarinder’s home turf turns into hub of agitators

Patiala residents are facing traffic jams, road blockades and route diversions due to police barricading on a daily basis

With the Punjab assembly polls just five months away, the Patiala residents are having a harrowing time as chief minister Amarinder Singh’s hometown has turned into protest capital of the state.

NSQF Vocational Teachers Union members wearing tyres at a rally march against the Punjab government in Patiala on September 5. (PTI)

According to police records, an average 7-8 protests were held in the city daily in the last 5 months with as many as 1,153 agitations from April 1 to August 31.

With massive protests being staged in the city, the residents are facing traffic jams, road blockades and traffic diversions due to police barricading on a daily basis. The situation has turned serious for the residents of colonies situated near the residence of CM Amarinder.

At present, the protestors have blocked main Passi and Fountain Chowk roads, thus restricting the traffic coming from the interiors of the city. A group of protestors is also sitting at the bus stop opposite Gurdwara Dukhniwarn Sahib.

Abhishek Garg, a resident of New Lal Bagh locality, said the roads are always blocked near the CM residence and the police barricading adds to their problems.

“Most of the time, it takes 40-45 minutes to cover 2-km distance,” he said.

Bhupinder Singh, a local resident, said it has become really difficult to move on the city roads which are blocked from all sides due to ongoing protests and construction works.

“We have to take longer routes to reach our destination,” he said.

Also, the construction of an overbridge near the new bus stand is causing inconvenience to those travelling on the Patiala-Rajpura road as the administration has diverted the main route through the main city.