Commuters had a harrowing time on Monday as protests by political parties and unions disrupted traffic movement in several parts of the city.
SAD protests for LIP chief’s arrest
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) staged a protest outside the office of police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal, demanding the arrest of Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) chief Simarjeet Singh Bains for allegedly raping a woman. The party leaders met Agrawal and gave him a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest Bains. They threatened to launch a stir outside the residence of cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu if the police failed to do so. SAD leader Harish Rai Dhanda accused Ashu of protecting the LIP chief.
Senior leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Hira Singh Gabria said Bains’ Vidhan Sabha membership should also be annulled. SAD workers also blocked the Ferozepur road leading to massive traffic jams.
BJP stir against attack on its party leaders
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, staged a protest against the state government at the mini-secretariat over the attack on its leaders in Rajpura. BJP state general secretary Parveen Bansal said, “The goons who attacked the BJP leaders enjoy the support of the ruling Congress government.”
{{/usCountry}}The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, staged a protest against the state government at the mini-secretariat over the attack on its leaders in Rajpura. BJP state general secretary Parveen Bansal said, “The goons who attacked the BJP leaders enjoy the support of the ruling Congress government.”
{{/usCountry}}District president Pushpinder Singhal, meanwhile, had to be rushed to the hospital as he complained of chest pain during the protest. His condition is stated to be stable.
Anganwadis stir for long-pending demands
While the cops were busy handling protesters outside the mini-secretariat, nearly 600 anganwari workers reached the office of child development and protection officer, demanding that the state government should pay up its share for increasing the workers’ wages. They said state government was not willing to pay its share due to which their salaried were hiked to only ₹900, against the promised salary of ₹1,500 for workers and ₹1,250 for mini-workers. Besides, they also want that children aged between 3 to 6 years must be sent to anganwadi centres instead of government schools for pre-primary classes.
AAP’s outrage over outages
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by its youth wing president and MLA Meet Hayer, reached the mini-secretariat to protest against the ongoing power crisis in the state.
AAP MLA Garhshankar Jai Kishan Singh Rouri said the government should compensate the industry and farmers for the losses they suffered due to the unending power outages. Rouri said that due to the power cuts, farmers had to use diesel-operated generators to water the paddy crop, which added to their costs and burnt a hole in their pockets amid the skyrocketing fuel prices.
Traders launch stir against PSPCL
Meanwhile, traders protested outside the Focal Point sub division of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), demanding the rollback of heavy penalties imposed on them. They said the corporation imposed fines on several businessmen over the past one year for using more than the sanctioned load in their factories.
They also said more protests will be conducted in Model Town subdivision on July 19, and CMC subdivision on July 26, City West subdivision on August 2, Aggar Nagar on August 9, Sundar Nagar on August 16, and City Centre subdivision on August 23.
Janta Nagar Small Scale Manufacturers Association president Jaswinder Singh Thukral said, “The protests will continue until the PSPCL waives off the penalties imposed on the businessman. Due to Covid-19, the industry is already reeling under losses and is not able to pay these hefty fines.”
Caught in traffic, commuters fume
The arterial roads and narrow streets including Sham Singh Road, Gurdial Singh Road, Ashok Nagar witnessed heavy traffic jam. Commuters stuck in the jam were seen honking restlessly. Many even decided to walk in order to reach the destination.
Surjit Singh, a commuter, said residents have to bear the brunt of many of these “politically motivated” protests.
Anil Kumar, another commuter, said that due to the construction of a flyover on Ferozepur road, the city is already reeling under traffic jams. “These protests have added to our troubles,” he said.