Ludhiana, December 7
Curfew overshadowed the Punjab bandh call given by panthic organisations in the city, as all areas remained closed, affecting normal life once again today.

Activists of Panthic organisations did not need to go out and force closure of establishments, as curfew made them achieve their goals. An uncomfortable silence prevailed on the roads that remained deserted throughout the day.

All markets, educational institutions, private establishments and industry remained closed for the second consecutive day today even as the residents cried hoarse for shortage of essential commodities. They hoped that situation returned to normal tomorrow.

The curfew remained imposed throughout the day, while it was lifted from three parts for three hours in the evening. The curfew was relaxed in Model Town, Sarabha Nagar and Division number 5 areas from 5 pm to 8 pm.

During these hours, residents in these three areas came out of their houses and resorted to panic buying of essential commodities like flour, sugar, vegetables and fruits.

While the curfew was strictly implemented on the Ferozepore road and old city parts only, the lanes and bylanes of the city did not witness strong imposition. Women were seen sitting on the streets and many children had a good time using roads as cricket grounds. Many people were seen enjoying the sun in the parks near their houses in outer colonies.

Earlier in the day, residents rued that they did not get their supply of milk, as the police did not allow the milkmen to enter the city. The supply by Verka proved inadequate for the entire population.

Residents also complained that there were no vegetables in the market today, as no vendor was seen selling these on roads.

At places, cops were seen using force on violators, who were trying to break the cordon of the police. At several places, cops were shooing away such people.

Shopkeepers rued that it was the third consecutive day when their businesses were affected. The worst hit were the daily wagers, who said they had no ration left for today. They said they would sleep with empty stomach today.

Several rickshaw-pullers dared to come out on the roads. Some were sent back, while others waited for clients while making them comfortable at a safer place. ‘‘I have earned Rs 20 today. Yesterday I did not earn a single penny,’’ said Ram Narayan, a rickshaw-puller on a Model Town road.

As educational institutes were closed today, exams of several colleges, schools and universities were cancelled. Students were lamenting that they would have to prepare for the examination yet again.

Ludhiana, December 7
Despite curfew, liquor vends remained open in various parts of the city today. Liquor was sold openly, allegedly with the backing of cops.

Tipplers were seen lined up outside some liquor vends and when nearby residents complained about the opening of liquor shop, cops looked the other way.

"I believe these liquor vend owners are above law. When the entire city has been closed down following curfew, I fail to understand how these shops have been allowed to sell liquor," said Anirudh, a student.

Ludhiana, December 7
Health services were badly affected by the curfew that was imposed for the second consecutive day, with patients in need of emergency treatment unable to reach hospitals.

Though SPS Apollo Hospital’s emergency wing received 60 queries today only 15 patients made it to the hospital. People were apprehensive about going there due to its location at Sherpur Chowk, which comes under the ‘sensitive zone. There were only 20 patients at the hospital’s OPD as against 500 on normal days.

A patient from Poda village, Uma Devi, had to be brought to the hospital on an auto rickshaw for her delivery. However, due to the nonfunctional laboratory the staff on emergency duty was unable to conduct some necessary tests, which resulted in an unavoidable delay.

However, the staff on emergency duty when contacted claimed they had ensured patients were being taken care of on priority basis.

Narmada Shankar, Uma’s husband, said, "The administration should provide SOS services to those in need of emergency medical aid whenever there is a curfew, so that the lives of patients is not endangered." Similarly, it took over two hours for Vikas Goyal to take his ailing mother, Madhu, to the emergency wing of DMCH.

"My mother was referred to DMCH from CMCH after her condition deteriorated. However, the police instead of helping harassed me. I was forced to go from one place to another. Eventually, at Jagraon bridge the Rapid Action Force personnel came to my rescue and gave me a clearance to take my mother to the hospital,” said Vikas.

The city’s major hospitals saw a sharp fall in the number of OPD patients. Christian Medical College & Hospital received just 150 patients as compared to over a thousand on other days, while there were only 250 patients at Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, down from 1,100 on other days.

Ludhiana, December 7
Industry seems to be passing through the worst times. After global recession and power cuts, violence has made the things worse. With no work for the past four days, industry, business establishments and hotels have suffered huge losses.

Even as it is the peak season for hosiery industry, there are no buyers due to imposition of curfew in the city.

Chairman of the Northern Region of Export Engineering Promotion Council (EEPC) SC Ralhan of Sri Tool Industries, Focal Point, said his unit had suffered losses of around Rs 20 lakh in the last four days. “The unit is not running in the absence of workforce. And due to curfew, even the owners have not been able to go to their factories. Our shipments have suffered. We will have to send the material by air to meet the deadlines. It will take months to make up for the losses,” he said.

Sunil Kumar of Vivek Garments said this was the peak season for hosiery manufacturers. On Saturdays and Sundays, maximum buyers from other states visit to buy hosiery goods. “But everyone is scared of coming to Ludhiana. There are no buyers for sweaters, shawls or jackets from the neighbouring states. Business has come to halt. The loss is approximately Rs 2 lakh per day,” he rued.

The hotel industry, too, is passing through bad times due to curfew. The bookings of parties, marriages and other ceremonies have been cancelled at many hotels due to disturbance in the city. Varun Dhanda of Imperial Hotel said all the booking for the next three-four days have also been cancelled. Besides, the occupants, a majority of them the executives, immediately vacated the rooms once they came to know that curfew was to be imposed.

Urging state government to take necessary action to save the industry from more losses, Avinash Gupta of RN Forgings said it would take months to make up for the losses. Due to production loss, they will not be bale to deliver goods on time, he said. "Our unit has suffered losses between Rs 50 and Rs 60 lakh in the last four days. The overseas buyers will not give further orders in Punjab, if situation does not improve. Industry, the highest tax payer to state exchequer, cannot afford to lose foreign buyers because of internal disturbances,” he said.

Ludhiana, December 7
With a curfew imposed in the entire city today, many streets became improvised cricket grounds with residents of all ages trying to have fun to beat the stress of the last three days. Be it the tense areas of Damoria Bridge, Jodhewal Basti, Samrala Chowk or localities like Model Town and Atam Nagar that were unaffected by the violence, streets resounded to cries like "catch", "out" or "bowled".

While teenagers predominated in this impromptu outdoor activity, many middle-aged men and senior citizens also tried to join them, either as players, spectators or commentators. In fact, at some places even some cops were found to be enjoying the game, taking a break from their stretched out duty hours.

Talking to The Tribune, Rohit who studies in BCM Arya Model School, said: "I was really pissed off when I was told to stay at home. Although my friends and I prefer to play in the Arya College or PAU grounds, since these were closed today I called up my pals here at Model Town. Since there was no traffic the street was an apt option to enjoy oneself."

He quipped “during the four hours we played we only smashed a windowpane of a car that had been parked at the end of the street”.

Even 18-year-old Dixit Pahwa, an engineering student, was out on the streets despite the curfew. "Empty streets in Ludhiana provide a rare opportunity for playing cricket. When I started playing, my uncle who stays nearby also came to join us."

Said his friend Raghav: "We came to know our exams would be postponed so we thought of taking a break for a few hours from studies," he said, adding the student community “enjoyed” the curfew a lot, making the most of the situation.

Ludhiana, December 7
The recent incidents of violence had its echo in Parliament on Monday with Congress MP from Ludhiana Manish Tewari raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour and urging the Central government to keep a close watch on the situation.

According to the recorded minutes of the parliamentary proceedings, transcripts of which were released by his office here today, Tewari, amid repeated interruptions from the opposition benches, sought the attention of the Central government towards the violence as the “state government seemed to have failed to visualise the situation”.

He sought to clarify that it was not his intention to apportion responsibility. He said, “My only intention is to caution the House and to caution the Government that Punjab is a frontline border state with a history of 15 years of turbulence, which led to the loss of many innocent lives.”

Tewari feared that given the radicalisation in western borders of Punjab (read Pakistan), any disturbance of peace and social cohesion has serious repercussions on the stability of India. “Unfortunately, since 2007, one incident or the other takes place every three-four months that keeps the pot boiling (in Punjab),” he pointed out, while warning, "If the Central government does not caution the Punjab government or does not remain vigilant…we may go back to the dark days…."

Meanwhile, several prominent citizens of the city from different walks of life have made an appeal to the city residents to maintain peace, communal amity and religious harmony and not to be provoked by stray acts of vandalism or violence by miscreants.

In a statement here today, they said all right thinking people were anguished at the events in the last few days, which had affected peace and harmony in the city. "Punjab has already witnessed dark days in the past. India is a democratic nation with freedom of movement and job to anyone anywhere in the country. There is also guarantee of freedom of expression to any person or group within the framework of the constitution."

They said a majority of the Indian population lived under extreme poverty and many a times, people from one region had to move to other states in search of livelihood. "Ludhiana is a witness to the contribution of migrants to its economic development and prosperity. However, those coming here in search of livelihood, are denied basic rights of minimum wages, housing, health and education. It is sad that instead of treating them with compassion and humanistic manner, they are denied justice."

In a note of caution, the signatories to the appeal observed that any attempt to disturb harmony and brotherhood between people of different states and religious beliefs would harm the interest of all the people and communities of the country.

The signatories to the statement included Dr LS Chawla, founder vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Medial Sciences and president of Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD), Jagmohan Singh, general secretary, Association of Democratic Rights (AFDR), Punjab, Dr Arun Mitra, general secretary IDPD and vice-president, Indian Medical Association, Punjab, Gurcharan Kochhar, president, Punjab Istri Sabha, DP Maur, president, PAU Employees Forum, AK Maleri, president, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Vichar Manch, Ramesh Rattan, chairman, Small Scale Industries and Traders Association, Dr Narjit Kaur, convener, Working Women Forum, Ludhiana, Dr Harbans Singh Grewal, district secretary, AFDR and Sher Singh Aulukh, president, Bharat Jan Gyan Vigyan Jatha.

Doraha, December 7
Doraha and Sahnewal towns today wore a deserted look complying with the bandh call given by various Sikh panthic organisations.

The bandh was near total in these towns as not even a single shop was allowed to open. The residents and most of the shopkeepers remained confined to their homes in order to avoid any untoward incident. But such was the panic and dread created by the tensed situations in the past few days that the employees, who otherwise had to attend to their jobs, were in a fix whether to dissuade themselves from the normal routine or follow the customary schedule. The employees too preferred to stay back.

“It is always better to take leave for a day rather than put oneself in trouble and invite trouble”, viewed one such employee working in a private bank.

At Sahnewal, as the shopkeepers tried to open their shops early this morning they were dissuaded from doing so by the police particularly due to the curfew that has been clamped for the past two days following the bloody incidents.

Whenever any shop keeper tried to open his shop, the police officials managed to get the better of them by forcing them to close the same there and then. The police personnel beefed up the security arrangements throughout the town and the situation was reported to be peaceful. Sahnewal DSP Balraj Singh Gill said the situation, throughout the day, was under control.

Ludhiana, December 7
As most major industrial enterprises in Punjab, including textiles, light engineering, bicycles, forging & casting and steel, in Punjab are highly labour intensive, they can survive only if they have a plentiful supply of migrant labour.

In a press statement yesterday, Apex Chamber of Commerce & Industry president PD Sharma said industry was presently facing its toughest challenge. “The unrest among migrants and the subsequent violence was due to several reasons. Migrant workers were feeling insecure in view of the rising incidents of looting and snatching during nights, when they found it was not safe to move around. And the main reason was that the police did not prove helpful to the workers”.

When the trouble took an ugly turn on December 3, local population in some pockets also sided with the police against the migrant labourers. “Migrant labourers were beaten up in their residential localities and some of their shanties and other dwellings were also set ablaze”, Sharma stated.

“Fear among the migrant labourers mounted to the extent that many of them began leaving the city. The job NREGA guarantee scheme is also responsible for the current labour shortage in Ludhiana and elsewhere. The influx of migrant workers is now decreasing due to this scheme," he added.

Sharma said, “Industry in Punjab had posted growth because it had easy excess to state government officials. Now, the government had devised a policy whereby industry was finding it difficult for its voice to be heard. The trouble erupted primarily due to such isolation of industry”.

He added to salvage the state’s economy a secure environment had to be provided to migrant workers. “Apart from industry agriculture is also highly dependant on migrant labour. The state government must ensure the security of not only 
these workers but also 
of all industrial plants’, he asserted.

Ludhiana, December 7
The violent incidents in the city on Friday in which the police and migrants clashed has not only created unrest among industrialists but has also led to many migrant workers packing their bags and returning to their native homes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Industrial activity in the city came to a virtual halt during the last four days. A curfew continues to be in force for the second straight day in Focal Point, industrial areas and other parts of the city.

The exodus of the migrant workers has heightened concern among the city’s industrialists, who were already facing a shortage of labour. They feel it would inflict further losses to industry.

Enquiries made by The Tribune have revealed the migrant workers employed in the city’s industrial units remit Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore every month to their families in Bihar and UP, from where most of them have come.

AN Mishra, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Purvanchal Vikas Parishad, told The Tribune leaders of industry should step in and assure the migrant labourers they were safe and no harm would be allowed to be caused to them.

“There are about 700,00 migrant workers employed in various industries in the city. If a majority of them returned home it would give rise to employment and law and order problems in their native states. The situation calls for immediate intervention by the city’s industrialists”, added Mishra, who has already met leaders of some of the industrial associations here.

Avtar Singh, general secretary of the Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings, Ludhiana, said industry was already facing a labour shortage of 25 percent as many of the workers who had gone back to their home states had not returned so far.

“The chamber will tomorrow get some city industrialists to visit the ‘vehras’ of migrant workers and assure them they would protect the migrants from anti-social elements. It’s also the duty of the state government to ensure the safety of life and property of the workers from Bihar and UP,” Avtar added.

Migrant workers form the backbone of both industry and agriculture in Punjab, as they perform all kinds of tasks in the factories and fields. On an average factory workers earn Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 a month and live in dingy rooms in groups of eight to ten in order to save as much money as they can.

Avtar Singh said a skilled worker could earn Rs 200 per day, while the state government has fixed Rs 3,200 as the minimum monthly wages for unskilled workers. “The four-day shutdown of industrial units in the city since Friday has caused losses in production amounting to about Rs 2,000 crore”, he added.

According to a study by Punjab Agricultural University, over two million migrant workers are employed in the state’s farm sector. During the days of militancy they were the main target of extremists in rural areas and several attempts were made to force them to leave the state.

Ludhiana, December 7
Failure of the Ludhiana District Administration to give clear directions on working of government offices left thousands of employees of various departments in a lurch over public dealing and attendance here today.

While most of the officials couldn't reach their offices due to imposition of curfew, some of them who managed it hard, had to return home after sometime.

Various offices, including Municipal Corporation’s office in A, B and C zones, public works department, District Transport Office, district administration and PSEB bore a deserted look.

An employee of MC's A-zone office, who had come to

office, said, “When I reached office around 9 am, it was completely deserted. I called up some of my colleagues and most of them suggested me to return.” He added that he had reached office after a great inconvenience as he didn’t want to be marked absent.

Similarly, a JE working with the PWD said, “I had asked my colleagues and seniors in the morning whether they were coming to office or not, as the curfew was intact. They said since our office did not fall under the purview of essential services, it would not be functional today.”

“Besides, the police in our area near Rani Jhansi Road was not even allowing us to travel,” he added.

In fact the public too had to suffer as clouds of confusions prevailed over public dealing. Ramesh Kumar, who had gone to submit his electricity bill at Fountain Chowk office, said, “It was last date to submit the bill today. But the office was closed. An employee, who had come to the office, suggested me to come tomorrow, as there was no staff at the office,” he said, adding that the directions of governments offices being closed today should have been conveyed to public earlier.

Clarifying doubts, Deputy Commissioner Vikas Garg said, “Barring essential services, government offices will remain closed today due to curfew.” 

Ludhiana, December 7
Four days after an irate mob torched 23 vehicles and took siege of the railway tracks, the police is now planning to hold meeting with the railway authorities to discuss measures so that such incident does not take place in future.

The sources have revealed that the railway authorities have decided to put up barricades alongside the area starting from the Focal Point till Sahnewal, which is largely dominated my migrants.

It is learnt that cops have told the railway authorities to instal aluminium sheets or barbed wires on the railway track along the Focal Point area.

The development took place following the Friday’s incident, when the mob of over 10,000 persons lay siege of the railway track and pelted stone at the cop to launch their protest against the police for its inaction in nabbing the snatchers.

According to the police, the mob pelted stones at the police, following which the police shot over 500 rounds in the air to disperse the crowd.

“We have learnt this trait in Bihar. The railway track, especially for Ludhiana, is the lifeline and as long as we are sitting here we can make the government bow to our demands. Further, the ammunitions - stones- are readily available here, we will make the police run for their money,” said Shehjad, who was sitting on a railway track along with his supporters on Friday.

It took almost 10 hours for the police to clear the railway track, which was converted into a garrison by the migrants.

After the incident, the police has been deployed on the railway track in front Ishwar Nagar colony.

The gravity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that one SP rank officer, three DSPs, three SHOs and around 50 cops along with personnel from reserve forces have been deployed near the railway track.

“It was like a war and the protestors were using the stones lying on the railway track as weapons. Till the time we did not clear the track, the migrant gave us a tough time. They pelted stone at us and made us run for shelter. The administration should wake up from its slumber and take preventive measures so that the people do not use the railway track for rioting,” said a cop on duty near Ishwar colony.

The track, which was cleared by the police from the possession of the migrant near Ishwar Nagar colony has been renamed as Tiger Hill by the police.

Phillaur, December 7
The local administration managed to persuade almost all the owners of the 227 shops located near the railway station to remove their shops on Sunday.

After the courts had declared these shops illegal encroachments, Phillaur SDM Pritam Singh and DSP Kamaljit Singh Dhillon convinced the shopkeepers to remove their valuables from the shops to pave the way for razing the shops. However, the shopkeepers agreed to remove the shops that have been there for over 45 years.

“The operation was completed on Sunday”, Pritam told The Tribune today. “A total of 329 shops had been constructed shops illegally on government land on both sides of the street facing the Phillaur railway station. The owners of 102 shops located on the station’s opposite side had succeeded in getting stay orders against demolition. However, 227 shopkeepers who had lost their cases at several stages in the courts today agreed to demolish their structures themselves”, he added.

Phillaur Shopkeepers Association president Des Raj Mal told reporters today that none of the shopkeepers were prepared for this development. “They had been getting false assurances their shops wouldn’t be demolished from politicians of different parties from time to time. The shopkeepers are now searching for alternative places to run their business”, he added.

Jagraon, December 7
The national executive council of the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation in its resolution has condemned the Ludhiana communal Clashes between the Divyajoti followers of Ashutosh and few Sikh organisations and has appealed to the citizens to maintain peace and law in the interest of the nation.

National president of the federation Dr Paramjeet Singh Ranu said, “Some communal external forces were bent on dividing the peaceful state for their personal interests on communal basis by provoking the religious sentiments of the people. They are trying to create an atmosphere of panic and terror in the state just for their own political interest and vote politics. Some Sikh leaders settled in Delhi or other states are bent upon disturbing the peace of Punjab due to their personal grudges with the Badal family and a few are trying to divide the religion for vote politics”.

Ranu said the role of the local BJP legislator was very negative and such persons must be taught a lesson by booking them under TADA, as they exploited the situation.

The council condemned the state governments inaction while tackling the situation and blamed the government for hurting the Sikh sentiments.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 7
Students of Government High School, Jartoli village, who had secured top positions in the board examination, were felicitated by the Lambardar Sampuran Singh Memorial Trust at a function chaired by Gursewak Singh, a social activist.

Joginder Singh Aulakh, deputy director, Punjab, was the chief guest on the occasion.

While addressing the gathering, various speakers, including former president of the Government Teachers’ Union Baldev Singh Latala, president of the Punjab School Teachers’ Union Sikandar Singh Jartoli and Aulakh appreciated the role of organisers in promoting education in the village. Speakers called upon leaders of social and political organisations to join hands to help the government meet the crisis faced by state-run schools.

Students presented a cultural programme on the occasion. Cash prizes worth Rs 3,500, Rs 2,500, Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,500 were awarded to students, who secured the first four positions in their respective board classes.

Ramandeep Kaur, Ravinder Kaur and Harpreet Singh were honoured for securing the first position, Shavinder Singh, Manpreet Kaur and Gagandeep Kaur secured the second position, Simran Jot Kaur, Rajandeep Kaur and Gurjot Kaur secured the third position in their respective classes, while Paramjit Kaur, Prabhjot Kaur and Pooja Devi were given Vaid Sadhu Singh Memorial Award for securing the fourth position.

Sikander Singh Jartoli, general secretary of the trust, said the family of late Sampuran Singh had earmarked a huge amount for honouring meritorious students of the school nine years ago. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 7
With prices looking up again due to violence and curfew, vegetables are getting out of the common man's reach.

Prices of veggies that had increased during the past months and maintained a low for a few weeks have started to soar again. In retail markets, the impact is more significant as retailers are quick to increase rates whereas in case of decline, they take time to pass on the benefit to the customers.

Traders said the prices are expected to increase further in case normalcy does not return soon. Retail rates differed according to localities. While the vegetable prices in areas close to Malerkotla town, the vegetable hub of the area, remained the same, residents of localities situated near Ludhiana had to pay more for fresh vegetables.

In retail markets of posh areas, pea was available for Rs 60 per kg, cauliflower Rs 25-30 per kg, brinjal Rs 20 to Rs 25 per kg, radish Rs 20 per kg, carrot Rs 20 per kg, onion Rs 30-40 per kg, tomato Rs 35 per kg and potato Rs 25 per kg.

Contrary to common trend, the vendors who sell vegetables on bicycles and handcarts made more profit than shop owners as women hesitated to visit markets due to the bandh call by radical Sikh organisations today.

In wholesale markets, the price of potato, which were stable at around Rs 8 per kg, have now shot up to Rs 11, whereas onion that was available for Rs 13-15 was now priced at Rs 19.

Retailers said demand that had been dismal in the past few days had started to look up again.

Khamano, December 7
Large stretches on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh highway as well as many of its link roads have become accident prone due to soil erosion on the roadsides. Several mishaps have been reported on various stretches and turns at Ucha Pind, Sanghol and Khamano areas during the past few days.

People commuting on these roads, especially those in two wheelers, complained the soil on the roadsides had become eroded since the past many days. They added recarpeting of roads have added to their problems as the level of the roads have risen compared to their sides.

“Speeding buses and heavy vehicles plying on these roads force two-wheelers to go off the roads while overtaking. Many scooterists and motorcyclists have fallen off the roads as they found themselves unable to maintain their balance due to the soil erosion on the roadsides”, said Harinder Singh, a resident of Khamano.

Problem aggravates adjoining the marriage palaces and colleges wherein people park their vehicles haphazardly. These days, due to paddy season, trucks parked in Khamano make long queues of many kilometers also increase in number of accidents.

Some residents of Ucha Pind and adjoining areas suffered injuries, both minor and major, during the past one month due to this problem. Soil erosion has also been reported on the link roads with some accidents resulting in fatalities.

Manjit Kaur, chairperson of the Human Rights Manch (Khamano block), said though the matter had been taken up by area residents with the authorities concerned a number of times, no action had yet been initiated in this regard. “Nearly a dozen accidents have been reported during the past 15 days in Khamano and adjoining areas. The problem will worsen in the coming days as the temperature will dip during early morning and fog will reduce visibility”.

She asserted the authorities should install reflectors on roads and police officials should fine rashly driven vehicles in both rural and urban areas. “Encroachments by shopkeepers and some farmers in villages should also be removed to reduce the number of accidents, she added.

Ludhiana, December 7
Curfew in the city had its effect on the courts too. Judges were seen waiting for the litigants today while earlier, the litigants were seen waiting for a call from the judges.

A majority of lawyers and litigants were not available to attend their cases due to imposition of curfew in different parts of district and following a call of bandh call given by Sikh radical organisations. Thousands of cases were adjourned without hearing.

Showing a liberal attitude, District and Sessions Judge SP Bangarh has directed all the judicial officers not to pass any adverse order, even if any litigant or his lawyer was not present. Even in the criminal case, the non-bailable warrants were not issued against those accused who could not reach the court today.

It was a day of harassment for thousands of litigants, lawyers and judicial staff following the Punjab bandh call given by Sikh panthic organisation and imposition of curfew in different parts of the city.

Litigants and lawyers faced a lot of hardship in reaching the court complex. They had a tough time in convincing the cops that their cases were fixed for today and their non-appearance might result into adverse orders against them, including issuance of arrest warrants.

Judicial staff had not other option but to reach the court complex, despite opposition by their family members. Women in the family were not in the favour of allowing their husbands and sons to go to the courts. They were of the view that in such a situation, the Punjab and Haryana High Court should have declared it a holiday.

Non-availability of lawyers in a majority of cases forced the judges to postpone the cases. Even some time-bound cases of the High Court were also adjourned.

A fast track court could not decide two rent appeals pending before it for hearing arguments today. The High Court had directed the court to decide these appeals before December 8, 2009. It was learnt that the fast track court judge apprised this to the Sessions Judge and then appeals were adjourned.