Farmers lay siege to two toll plazas in Punjab’s Amritsar

The farmers blocked the toll plazas but allowed the traffic to flow freely without paying any toll charges. Waryam Nangal toll plaza is situated on the Amritsar-Pathankot highway, while the Manawala toll is situated on Amritsar-Jalandhar highway

The members of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) on Monday blocked two toll barriers in Amritsar—Waryam Nangal and Manawala—demanding disbursal of financial aid for flood-hit farmers.

Farmers block a toll plaza on Amritsar-Pathankot highway at Waryam Nangal village in Amritsar on Monday. (ANI)

The farmers blocked the toll plazas but allowed the traffic to flow freely without paying any toll charges. Waryam Nangal toll plaza is situated on the Amritsar-Pathankot highway, while the Manawala toll is situated on Amritsar-Jalandhar highway. Sixteen farmer bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, plan to hold a demonstration in Chandigarh on Tuesday, demanding a package of ₹50,000 crore from the Centre for damage caused due to the floods in the northern region, including Punjab.

KMSC’s state leader German Singh said, “We had plans to move towards Chandigarh to protest against the unmet demand of giving financial aid to the flood hit farmers. However, many of our leaders and workers were detained in their homes by the police. So our workers decided to lay siege at Waryam Nangal and Manawala toll plazas.”

He said their protest will continue till their demands are met by the state government.