Punjab bandh: Shops shut, highways blocked as Morcha protests for release of Sikh prisoners
Punjab witnessed disruptions as the Qaumi Insaf Morcha’s bandh call over the release of ‘Bandi Singhs’ affected markets, transport and highway movement. Shops remained closed and protesters blocked roads across several districts, while police maintained security arrangements to prevent untoward incidents
Patiala/Ferozepur: Shops and markets remained shut while traffic movement was hit on the highways at many places in the state on Friday in the wake of a ‘Punjab Bandh’ call given by the Qaumi Insaf Morcha to press for the release of ‘Bandi Singhs’ (Sikh prisoners).
Heavy police deployment was made at many places across Punjab, including Amritsar, Ludhiana, Mohali and Jalandhar, to maintain law and order.
The call for the bandh was given from 7 am to 2 pm.
Bandi Singhs refers to Sikh prisoners convicted for their involvement in militancy during the Punjab insurgency of the 1990s.
Commuters, including office-goers and travellers, bore the brunt of the bandh call as they got caught up in road blockades by supporters of the Qaumi Insaf Morcha and various farmers’ bodies at several places, including Patiala, Mohali and Jalandhar.
Commuters at some places were seen requesting the protesters to allow them to proceed towards their destinations as tractor-trolleys and other vehicles were parked in the middle of roads, including state and national highways, by the agitators.
Essential services such as medical emergencies, travel to airports, exams and wedding ceremonies were allowed, the Morcha leaders said.
The protesters staged dharnas in Jalandhar, Ludhiana’s Ladhowal, Hoshiarpur and Ferozepur to vent their anguish over the non-release of Sikh prisoners. They also took out marches on two-wheelers in cities.
Shops at several places, including Sangrur, Ludhiana and Mohali, remained shut, barring medicine stores.
Private schools remained shut on Friday as the Federation of Private Schools announced a holiday in view of the bandh call.
Chandigarh Police personnel, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), were deputed along the barricades put up at the Mohali-Chandigarh border points.
In Patiala, protesters led by Qaumi Insaf Morcha leader Gurcharan Singh parked vehicles on the road outside the main bus stand, effectively blocking traffic on both sides.
The blockade severely affected the movement of buses operating from Patiala towards Bathinda, Ferozepur, Faridkot and other parts of the state.
Buses coming out of the bus stand were also stopped, resulting in long queues of vehicles and stranded passengers.
The Patiala bus stand is one of the city’s major transportation points, and its blockade had a direct impact on traffic movement in the city.
In Ferozepur, shops in the key commercial areas in both the city and the cantonment remained shut as traders voluntarily observed the bandh.
A few establishments, including banks, that opened in the morning were later closed after protesters reached there.
The protesters also blocked Octroi No. 7, a key exit point from the city towards Zira and Ludhiana, disrupting traffic movement.
They raised slogans against the government while demanding the release of Sikh prisoners who, they claimed, had completed their sentences long ago.
Traffic on several city roads remained considerably lighter than usual due to the bandh.
Ferozepur SSP Bhupinder Singh said that adequate security arrangements were made and no untoward incidents were reported in the district.
In Patiala, Gurcharan Singh said the issue of the release of ‘Bandi Singhs’ has been pending for a long time and the government must take a serious and decisive view of the matter.
He said Sikh prisoners who have completed their sentences should not continue to remain behind bars for years.
According to the Morcha leader, the prolonged incarceration of such prisoners has caused immense pain to their families and has become a matter of concern for the Sikh community.
The agitation is not against any particular community or religion, but is aimed at seeking justice and the implementation of constitutional and legal rights, he said.
Normal life was also disrupted in Hoshiarpur, where almost all shops, business establishments, banks, schools and colleges remained shut on Friday.
Government and private buses also remained off the roads due to the bandh.
The protesters staged dharnas and blocked vehicular traffic at several locations in the district, including Bijli Ghar Chowk, Tanda, Hajipur Chowk, Dasuya and Adda Bhangala on the Jalandhar-Pathankot National Highway, among other places.
The bandh also caused inconvenience to pilgrims travelling to and returning from the Chintpurni temple in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, as no buses were operating from the Hoshiarpur bus stand.
Simarjit Kaur (60), who came from Faridkot with a group of women to pay obeisance at the temple, said they were unable to return home after visiting the shrine.
“We were unaware of the bandh call and came to know about it only after reaching the Hoshiarpur bus stand. As bus services were expected to resume only after 2 pm, we had no option but to wait,” she said.
In Phagwara, vehicular traffic between Ludhiana and Jalandhar on National Highway-44 was diverted from the local sugar mill to the Phagwara-Nakodar road, causing a long detour and inconvenience to people.
Traffic in-charge, Inspector Aman Kumar, said vehicular movement was diverted as protesters from other areas blocked the national highway near an eatery falling under Jalandhar rural district.
Long queues of loaded trucks and personal vehicles could be seen on one side of the highway for negotiating a sharp left turn.
The Morcha has been demanding parole for Jagtar Singh Hawara, who is serving a life sentence for the assassination of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995.
Besides Hawara, the Morcha has been demanding the release of other ‘Bandi Singhs’, including Balwant Singh Rajoana and Devinderpal Singh Bhullar.
Rajoana is a convict in the 1995 assassination of Beant Singh, while Bhullar is serving a sentence in connection with a 1993 bomb blast case in Delhi.