Punjab bandh: Complete shutdown in Doaba region
In the Doaba region, which includes Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and SBS Nagar districts, most commercial establishments remained shut and market areas wore a deserted look
Markets remained shut at many places in Punjab as several Christian and Dalit bodies on Wednesday held demonstrations during their ‘Punjab bandh’ call against the Manipur violence. At a few places, educational institutes also remained shut and protesters blocked traffic. The maximum impact of the bandh call was visible in Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar districts. Agitators shouted slogans against the Central government for the violence in the northeastern state and also took out protest marches.
In the Doaba region, which includes Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and SBS Nagar districts, most commercial establishments remained shut and market areas wore a deserted look. The transportation facilities, however, saw no impact. Most of the private schools also remained closed in Jalandhar district as a precautionary measure. No blockades were reported on the Delhi-Amritsar national highway, however, protesters blocked the approach roads at Rama Mandi Chowk and Lamma Pind square. Protesters also blocked the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur roads, besides the Kapurthala Chowk, Maqsudan bypass and Ravidas Chowk.
Mixed response in Majha
A near-complete shutdown was observed in Amritsar City in response to the Bandh call. Shops in almost all the main markets, including Hall Bazaar, Katra Jaimal Singh Bazaar and other markets in the vicinity of the Golden Temple, remained shut.
Services, including transport, banking, health, and government offices functioned normally.
Some schools decided to exempt junior class students from attending classes for the day but by and large most schools remained open.
Bhandari bridge was the main spot for the protest. However, a partial bandh was observed in other towns of Amritsar district.
There was a mixed response to the call in the Gurdaspur district, which has two main towns Gurdaspur and Batala. The situation remained normal in the Tarn Taran district. All the commercial outlets remain open in Tarn Taran town.
Malwa: Ferozepur saw maximum impact
In most parts of the south Malwa region, except Ferozepur district, there was a mixed response to the bandh call. Private commercial establishments and all educational institutes remained open in Bathinda, Faridkot, Fazilka and other parts of the belt. As per information, bus and train services in the region also remained unaffected. Ferozepur, which is located on the India-Pakistan border, witnessed an overwhelming response, where all markets remained closed since morning, and several private school managements also declared a holiday for students. There was no input of any attempt to disrupt the public transport or the highways.
Ferozepur SSP Deepak Hilori said the ‘bandh’ remained peaceful, adding that more than 1,000 policemen have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
In Sangrur and Barnala districts, the impact of the bandh call was hardly visible. The Moonak Bar Association, however, extended support to the strike.
Meanwhile, heavy police deployment was made in all parts of the state to ensure law and order amid the bandh.
In Hoshiarpur, shops and commercial establishments remained shut in the city. Activists belonging to organisations such as Christian National Front, Pastors Association, Ravdidasiya Ekta Dal, and Akhil Bharatiya Balmik Samaj staged ‘dharnas’ at various places in the district.
Vehicular traffic on the national and state highways was blocked at places including Bijli Ghar, Chowk Tanda, Hajipur Crossing, Dasuya and Mata Rani Chowk, Mukerian as protestors laid siege.
Hoshiarpur senior superintendent of police Sartaj Singh Chahal said no untoward incident was reported from any nook and corner of the district.
“Traffic was diverted towards various alternative routes at the places where it was blocked because of the protest,” Chahal said.
In Phagwara, while the interior of the city bazaars remained closed, the outer areas had little impact of the ‘bandh’. In Ludhiana, there was hardly any impact of the bandh call as the markets and commercial establishments remained open. With inputs from PTI