Chandigarh-Ambala highway blockade lifted after 4 hours at 3 pm

Commuters and road users patience was tested to the maximum as Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) blocked main roads in the state for four hours, from 11 am to 3 pm, in protest against the "tardy" procurement and lifting of paddy in Punjab.

The blockade on the Ambala-Chandigarh National Highway at Lalru Mandi ITI Chowk has now been lifted.

SKM had convened a meeting of 32 farmer organisations on Wednesday to decide its future course of action against tardy procurement of paddy and announced the blockade of roads in the state on October 25.

Earlier on Tuesday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called on the central government to assist with paddy-procurement, aiming to clear the state's mandis and facilitate wheat production for the upcoming harvest season.

"I have spoken to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and requested him to find a solution to the problem of rice millers as soon as possible because all the demands are related to the central government," said Mann.