Commuters hassled as Chandigarh borders sealed to stop protesters

Commuters were on the receiving end for nearly eight hours on Thursday as the UT administration sealed the Chandigarh-Mohali border in Zirakpur to stop Shiromani

Commuters were on the receiving end for nearly eight hours on Thursday as the UT administration sealed the Chandigarh-Mohali border in Zirakpur to stop Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supporters who were holding a protest march against the recent farm laws.

Traffic was also affected at the Mullanpur-Chandigarh border, from where SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal was to enter. (HT PHOTO)

Traffic was also affected at the Mullanpur-Chandigarh border, from where SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal was to enter. Badal was scheduled to reach at 3pm but he came at 8.30pm.

Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who was leading the march from Bathinda, was to reach the Zirakpur-UT border at around 3pm, but she, along with her supporters, also reached the venue at around 8.45pm.

Restrictions put in place since morning

The UT administration had started sealing the border from 9am itself, allowing only a few vehicles to pass till 12 noon.

By 1pm, the border was completely sealed and cops started diverting traffic from the national highway, forcing the commuters to take the VIP road to reach Chandigarh. But on the VIP road also, protesters had come out on their tractors to air their anger.

Another commuter, Poonam, who works at a hotel at Zirakpur said, “I got off my duty at 5pm to reach Raipur, but could not go home due to sealing of the border. I don’t know how I will reach home.”

Dera Bassi MLA NK Sharma was also present at border with his supporters.

From Mullanpur side too, commuters had to take alternate routes to reach Chandigarh due to the sealed borders.