Commuters bear brunt of farmers’ bandh in Punjab

Stranded, they have no choice but to wait for road blockades to be lifted by the evening

The bandh called by farmers in Punjab on Friday left scores of commuters stranded at various places in the state, including the busy Ladhowal Toll Plaza on the Ludhiana-Delhi National Highway 44.

Farmers waving black flags while protesting against the three farm bills near Ladhowal Toll Plaza in Ludhiana on Friday. Security was stepped up, while passengers waited for bus services to resume after the agitation ends at 4pm. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

Passengers were left with no choice as they waited at Jalandhar Bypass for the agitation to end at 4pm.

“I had no clue that buses won’t be operating. I was returning to Hoshiarpur from Ludhiana,” Kamla, 85, said.

Pargat Singh, 48, a mason from Beas said, “I was in Ludhiana for work and was returning to Beas. Now we have no choice but to wait for the bus service to resume.”

Shahnawaz Khan, 40, said he was on his way to Gurdaspur. “I checked out of a hotel in Ludhiana a short while ago to catch a bus but now I don’t know where to go.”

Some autorickshaw and private taxi operators made most of the situation. While taxis charge between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 per passenger to Jalandhar, a commuter, Vishal Kumar, said they were demanding Rs 3,500 for a trip to Jalandhar during the bandh.

Sharanjit Singh Kalsi, the vice-president of Azad Taxi Union, however, said the taxi operators’ union has joined the protest at Ladhowal. “We are not operating our vehicles today in support of the farmers. If farmers suffer how will our business survive?” he said.

Harinder Singh Lakhowal, the vice-president of a Bharti Kisan Union faction, said “Prior information was given about the protest. We regret the inconvenience caused,” he said.