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Ludhiana: Traffic halts as truck operators, farmers protest at Ladhowal toll plaza
The protest, staged at the Ladhowal toll barrier coming from Jalandhar side, aimed to draw attention to long-standing grievances; an FIR has been registered against 200 unidentified people and four protesting leaders
Traffic on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar highway near the Ladhowa toll plaza on Thursday came to a standstill for approximately three hours due to a protest organised by the members of All Punjab Truck Operator Union, farmer unions, and labour unions.
Police had to resort to baton charge and force to lift the protest at the Ladhowal toll plaza.
The protest, staged at the Ladhowal toll barrier coming from Jalandhar side, aimed to draw attention to long-standing grievances. An FIR has been registered against 200 unidentified people and four protesting leaders. Police officials claimed that the National Highway Act has also been imposed against the accused.
According to police officials, eight accused have been identified and arrested by the police officials here.
ADCP Ramandeep Bhullar said, “Protesters have stalled the national highway around 12 noon and we have asked them multiple times to lift the protest as commuters have to suffer, but they refused due to which we were forced to detain the protesting leaders. The protest was lifted around 4 pm.”
He added that eight leaders, including Happy Sandhu, head of the truck operators’ union, were detained and 200 unidentified persons were booked under NH Act and section 8B, 353, 186, 379B and 149 of the IPC.
The demonstration at the Ladhowal toll barrier led to a traffic jam on both sides of the highway, affecting commuters traveling from Jalandhar and Delhi. Long queues of vehicles stretched for kilometers.
Ranjit Singh, member of Truck Operator Union said, “We are not getting the wages according to the wage rate adopt by the FCI, as the tenders were allocated to the contractor due to which labourers and drivers of the trucks are paid very low.”
The jam persisted for three hours. As tensions rose, arguments broke out between the protesters and the public.
Assistant deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Ramandeep Singh Bhullar tried to talk to the protesters and urged them to demonstrate on the side of the road. Eventually, after discussions with administrative officials, the assistant district magistrate (ADM) agreed to consider the demands of the protesters.
Police officials claimed that attempts were made to engage in dialogue with the protesters peacefully, but they resorted to violence against police officers. Some of the protesters were detained for creating blockades on the national highway and disrupting officials from conducting their duties.