E-Paper
Farmers march to Delhi today: Chaos at Dera Bassi-Ambala border amid blockade
Those travelling on the Ambala-Chandigarh national highway (NH)-152 were forced to take longer routes or diversions via narrow village roads as the Haryana authorities put up three-layers of concrete jersey barriers at Dera Bassi-Ambala border near Jharmari barrier.
Commuters, especially those on inter-state journeys, had a harrowing time on Monday with the authorities sealing state borders in wake of the farmers’ ‘Delhi challo’ march on Tuesday. For some commuters, the travel increased by around 100km due to the blockades and diversions.
Those travelling on the Ambala-Chandigarh national highway (NH)-152 were forced to take longer routes or diversions via narrow village roads as the Haryana authorities put up three-layers of concrete jersey barriers at Dera Bassi-Ambala border near Jharmari barrier.
Over 50 Haryana cops, along with paramilitary forces, including the ITBP, were seen guarding the barrier, leaving no passage for commuters to enter Ambala from Punjab.
Earlier on Saturday, the Haryana-Punjab border at Shambhu was also sealed.
On the other end, Punjab police have also barricaded the Dera Bassi Flyover before Dappar barrier forcing people to take diversions towards Barwala in Panchkula or from Bhankharpur to Mubarikpur via Ramgarh road, Yamunanagar, to reach Delhi or the Haryana districts on the way to the Capital.
Commuters also took diversions from Handesra village and Jharmeri village increasing their travel time and causing long traffic snarls on the inner roads of Lalru, Handesra, Jharmeri, Dera Bassi, Barwala and Panchkula.
Rajinder Singh, a lawyer who was stuck in traffic, said, “I had to go to Lalru police station for some urgent work but cops did not allow me to take the Dera Bassi flyover. Thus, I had to take the congested side road under the flyover to reach my destination. It took me over an hour to cover the distance that usually takes about 20 minutes.”
Gaurav Thakur, a Delhi resident who reached Jharmeri barrier with his family, said, “We returned from Kasauli and were heading back home. Due to the barricades, we had to take a very long route through nearby villages.”
Mohali senior superintendent of police Sandeep Kumar Garg remained unavailable for comments
Cab, flight fares double
As road travel took a hit, cab and flight operators made hay.
Saurabh Taneja, a Zirakpur resident, said, “I paid ₹1,400 for a shared cab to Delhi, which usually costs ₹600 from Zirakpur bus stand.”
Inderbir Singh, a taxi driver at Zirakpur bus stand, said, “We don’t have a choice but to charge more as we have to take around 100 km extra to reach Delhi, facing all the harassment due to blockage. Moreover, we are getting less passengers now.”
Amid the road blockades, those hoping to reach Delhi via air had to shell out almost double the regular fare.
Krishan Arora, a Mohali resident said, “I checked the availability of flights from Chandigarh to Delhi for the next two days and was in for a shock. I was told that the airlines were charging anywhere between ₹11,000 and 15,000 for economy class. Normally, it costs around ₹4,500.”
Later in the evening, Tricity Cab Association president Vikram Singh Pundir urged all cab drivers and passengers to refrain from traveling to Delhi unless absolutely necessary, considering the situation.
