E-Paper
Ludhiana: Rahon Road residents, farmers stall NH-44 traffic over civic issues
The blockade caused massive traffic congestion on both sides of the highway, leaving hundreds of commuters, including office-goers, schoolchildren and transporters, stranded in humid conditions
The traffic on the National Highway-44, the busy Amritsar-Delhi corridor, came to a standstill for nearly an hour on Wednesday after residents of Rahon Road, backed by farmer unions, staged a protest at Basti Jodhewal Chowk demanding immediate action on long-pending civic issues, including construction of Rahon Road and removal of encroachments.
The blockade caused massive traffic congestion on both sides of the highway, leaving hundreds of commuters, including office-goers, schoolchildren and transporters, stranded in humid conditions. Long queues of vehicles stretched across the highway as traffic crawled at a snail’s pace.
The protest was organised by residents of Rahon Road with support from the Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Union and the Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Union (Chaduni). Protesters marched from the Mattewara forest area before assembling at the chowk and blocking vehicular movement.
The protesters demanded the reconstruction of the dilapidated Rahon Road, improvement of the sewerage network and removal of illegal roadside encroachments. Farmer leader Dilbag Singh, who was leading the protest, said that despite repeated representations, authorities had failed to address the problems. Potholes and waterlogging has made the road dangerous, especially during the monsoon.
Farmer leaders claimed they had announced the agitation on July 1 to give the administration ample time to act, but no meaningful progress was made.
The protest ended after officials from the district administration, municipal corporation and the public works department reached the site and assured protesters that work on the road project would begin within days and the pending issues would be addressed by July 27.
While the protesters welcomed the assurances, many commuters questioned the decision to block a national highway. “People have every right to protest, but thousands of travellers suffered because of the blockade,” said Surjit Singh, who remained stuck in the traffic jam for nearly an hour. “The demonstration could have been held outside the offices of the concerned departments instead of disrupting traffic on such a crucial route,” he said.
3rd road blockade
in past four days
On July 12, the traffic on the busy Ludhiana-Jalandhar highway was severely disrupted on Sunday after Sikh organisations and Nihang groups launched a protest at the Ladhowal Toll barrier, demanding the arrest of Chetan Sharma, accused of hurting religious sentiments.
On July 13, Nihang organisations brought normal life in the city to a grinding halt, blocking the busy Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road outside the office of police commissioner Swapan Sharma on Monday alleging police of inaction. The protest triggered massive traffic snarls across the city.
