Open House: What steps should Mohali administration take to ensure people don’t suffer due to protests?

Protesters are least bothered about inconvenience faced by the public. To control this menace, CRPF should be deployed. It can make use of drones to keep tabs on the protesters. The Rapid Action Force is a specialised wing of the CRPF to deal with such situations. Daily agitations not only harass commuters but also send a wrong message to other states and affect industrial investments.

NPS Sohal, Chandigarh

Earmark protest site

The district administration should earmark a place for protests, dharnas and rallies on the outskirts of Mohali with basic amenities like Chandigarh. Peaceful protests should be held at that particular place only, not on roads or chowks. It is the responsibility of the administration to make sure people do not suffer due to protests. It must deal with lawbreakers with an iron hand.

Sonu Verma, Chandigarh

No effective system for redress of grievance

Probably, there is no effective grievance-redressal mechanism, so people resort to rallies and dharnas. Reach out to people with an effective grievance-handling system so that the public at large is not inconvenienced due to agitations.

Sapna Sharda, Chandigarh

Don’t allow agitators to carry weapons

The administration must designate a site for protesters and make sure agitations are confined to that place only. If protesters block roads, the police must ensure that one side of the road remains open. No protester should be allowed to carry any sharp weapons or sticks. Section 144 must be imposed and strong action taken against violators.

Capt Amar Jeet (retd), Kharar

Penalise demonstrators

Earmark a protest site away from residential areas and charge a certain fee for its use. The administration must notify that no protest can be held without permission. A list carrying the names of all protesters should be submitted while applying for permission. The protesters should be made to pay for any damage caused to public property during the protest. Timings should also be fixed for holding protests. The genuine demands of the protesters must be accepted immediately or they be given an undertaking for the same.

Kirpal Singh

Don’t inconvenience public at large

Protests and dharnas are a basic democratic right of every citizen but to cause public inconvenience is not fair, and it must not be allowed. A space may be earmarked for protests. In case of damage to public property, stringent action should be taken against defaulters and they be made to pay for it. Lastly, it is the duty of every law-abiding citizen to ensure that least inconvenience is caused to the public in the name of protests.

Col TBS Bedi, Mohali

People at receiving end

Chandigarh border has become a hot place for various agitations. Chandigarh is the common capital of Punjab and Haryana besides being a UT. People coming here from both states suffer due to protests. The most harried lot has been employees and businessmen. A specific place must be earmarked for agitations to stop inconvenience to the public. People have the right to strike but the rights of others cannot be taken for a ride.

Wg Cdr JS Minhas (retd), Mohali

Cane charge those blocking roads

The police should keep roads and footpaths free from all kinds of blockades and encroachments all over the country. Places should be earmarked for protests in every city. Blocking roads and obstructing the free movement of public are punishable offences. The police must ensure there is no inconvenience to the public due to protests.

Ashok Kumar Goel, Panchkula

UT should cooperate with Punjab Govt

Most organisations of Punjab choose Mohali as their favourite spot for holding protests since the secretariat is situated here. Residents of Mohali and Kharar face a lot of inconvenience, particularly those commuting to Chandigarh and Panchkula daily. The Punjab Government must designate a spot for protests. No protests should be allowed on Mohali-Chandigarh border. The UT Administration must cooperate Punjab Government to ensure a smooth flow of traffic during protests. Proactive measures need to be taken against potential mischief mongers.

Yash Khetarpal, Panchkula

Resolve matter through talks

There must be a designated place for protests. Protesters can get their demands fulfilled through dialogue. Protesting on roads and hindering traffic is not fair. Commuters should be given a safe passage to reach their working place. Top officials of Punjab should try to convince protesters to come to the table to discuss their demands. If they still not agree to an amicable solution, then mild force may be used to shift them to the designated protest site.

MR Bhateja, Nayagaon

Strictly deal with violent protesters

Mohali, of late, has emerged as an epicentre of protests. The protesters, Including farmers and sympathisers of pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh had not only blocked roads but also pitched tents at intersections, resulting in a tremendous inconvenience to commuters and local residents. It is the responsibility of the state government to ensure that the public is not inconvenienced due to these protests. A place away from residential areas be earmarked for protests on the lines of Delhi. Protesters resorting to violent measures need to be dealt with strictly as per the law.

Dr Dinesh Kumar Verma, Panchkula

Take swift action

Act as per law to stop protests causing harassment of commuters. The government should earmark a spot for protests. Protesters should be whisked away as soon as they start gathering at an intersection.

Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali

Keep roads free of agitators

Mohali has become favourite with protesters. The YPS chowk remains choked with protesters all around the year. The administration needs to earmark a spot for protests and should not allow any agitations on roads. The designated protest site should be provided with proper lighting, water and sanitation facilities. The police should ensure a round-the-clock vigil.

Sunny Dhaliwal, Chandigarh

Intelligence needs to be strengthened

Frequent protests have been causing inconvenience to road users and local residents. The authorities have been accused of going soft on protesters. They should be dispersed as soon as they gather on a road. Local intelligence unit needs to be strengthened. Political will is the most important factor in controlling such situations. Residents should also raise their voice against such troublemakers. Tricity police must join hands to tackle such protests.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula

Peaceful protests democratic right

Peaceful protests are a democratic right of individuals. Chandigarh being the capital of two states, protesters block roads to press for their demands. The police also have to block Chandigarh border to maintain law and order in the city. As the authorities have failed to keep roads cleared of agitators, under pressure of agitators or political bosses, there should be a permanent judicial order to the civil as well police authorities to keep all highways, roads and streets hindrance-free. The authorities should earmark a permanent place for agitations and protests are held only there and that too with approval. Violence by agitators must be dealt with force.

Suresh Verma, Chandigarh

Hold meetings of tricity officials

The foremost duty of the administrations of both cities is to ensure a smooth passage for every law-abiding citizen. The Governor of Punjab-cum-UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit should call frequent meetings of tricity officials to take proactive measures. Intelligence wings should work efficiently in close coordination. Protesters’ leaders should be taken into confidence and timely. Lawbreakers should be dealt with strictly.

Vijay Shukla, Chandigarh

Penalise bodies for blocking roads

There should be penalty and punishment for holding dharnas, protests and rallies on roads. Proactive steps must be taken to prevent situations from getting out of control. While a peaceful protest is a powerful tool for making political statements and a protected form of expression, citizens must also take permission for holding protests from the authorities concerned.

Anita K Tandon, Mundi Kharar

Police need to be alert

Hold protests at designated spot
Protests should be restricted to areas outside the city or in an earmarked place. Holding protests at busy points such as Matka Chowk is totally unacceptable. The administration should take a strong stance against holding protests at random places. It must have an anti-riot squad on standby. Police officers need to be alert and vigilant.

Dr Shruti K Chawla, Chandigarh

No lessons learnt

The Mohali administration has not learnt any lessons from the past. It should designate a site for protests. Once the administration comes to know about a protest, it should immediately deploy forces. Those causing damage to public property should immediately be put behind bars and services of government employees involved in such violent protests be terminated.

Savita Kuthiala

Hold dialogue for amicable solution

The authorities must earmark a place, equipped with amenities such as potable water and sanitation, for protests, so that life is not affected in other parts of the city. Besides, intelligence should be gathered to pre-empt violent situations. Hold a dialogue with protesting leaders to find an amicable solution. If needed, stringent action should be taken against lawbreakers.

SS Arora, Mohali

Evolve proactive mechanism

The administrations of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali have not learnt from past. They had failed to anticipate the scale and gravity of the recent protests in Mohali. The administrations of the tricity should evolve a proactive mechanism to redress the demands of protesters. It is important to defuse a situation rather than sitting back and watch emotions build up. A blend of planning and strong will is needed in dealing with protesters, particularly armed ones. There should be a consensus among the three administrations that roads are not blocked during protests.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali

Take necessary steps soon

Frequent protests, dharnas and rallies on roads inconvenience local residents as well as commuters. The administration should take necessary steps immediately to ensure that people do not suffer. There should be a designated place for protests.

Adish Sood, Amloh

Harassing commuters won’t do any good

Protesters should understand that by inconveniencing the public, they are not doing any good to their cause. They should think about the problems of common people whose daily life gets disrupted due to protests. It seems in the absence of an effective grievance redressal mechanism, protesters are forced to resort to road blockades. It is time we have a well-defined complaint registration system with a redressal mechanism that is efficient, effective and fast to give relief to aggrieved parties. A site may be earmarked for protests.

Dr Rajeev Kumar, Chandigarh

Hold talks with protesters

Steps should be taken to ensure people don’t suffer due to protests. The authorities must earmark sites for protests. Section 144 must be strictly imposed at and around that site. We must learn from the past. Authorities must quickly hold talk with protesters to resolve their issues.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma

Govt also to blame

In a democratic society, holding a peaceful protest is part of the fundamental rights. Protesters put up their legitimate issues before the authorities concerned, but unfortunately, such memorandums are thrown into dustbins. Most protesters do not want to disrupt peace, but the authorities provoke them to do so. The governments concerned are squarely responsible for such protests.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

Quick action mechanism needed

To ensure public movement is not disrupted during protests, the authorities concerned must keep communication lines open and try to resolve matters amicably. If protesters cause public nuisance to press for their demands, then the latter also have the right to free movement. One often sees ambulances getting stuck in traffic jams caused by road blockades by protesters. A quick action mechanism, including effective intelligence, can help prevent any contingency. The administration should not allow any problem to simmer for a long time.

Charu Malhotra, Mohali

Dharna without nod like ‘gunda raj’

The government already knows about protests but hardly takes action in time out of fear of losing its vote bank. The government should make preparations throughout the year to tackle unnecessary protests. It should consider timely protesters’ genuine demands without delay. Action against violent protesters should be exemplary.

Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh

Know root cause of protests

Immediate steps should be taken by the district administration to ensure that no one is inconvenienced due to protests. The respective authorities must know the root cause of protests in order to resolve the matter at the earliest. Protesters should be removed from roads. Decisions taken by the government are for the welfare of people. However, they are often unable to understand their good and resort to such activities, causing inconvenience to public.

Vivaan Gupta, Panchkula

Zero tolerance to public inconvenience

Road blockades by protesters, sometimes by the police, take a heavy toll on emergency services, schoolchildren, commuters and travellers. The police should not allow any protest on roads. An area should be earmarked for protests. The intelligence should be robust so that antisocial elements are tackled in time. A sufficient number of police personnel should be deployed at a protest site to prevent the situation getting out of control.

Dr Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh

Pay heed to demands of organisations

For the past many days, tents have been pitched in the middle of the road at the YPS chowk, forcing residents to take detours to reach their destinations.

An area should be earmarked for holding demonstrations. The authorities concerned are requested to seriously pay heed to the demands of protesters. In case of road blockade, protesters should be dealt with strictly.

Manseerat Kaur, Chandigarh

Govt fails to act in time

Many times, people have small grievances that can be resolved at once. But governments failed to act in time, forcing people to take the agitational path. The protests should only be held at the designated places. The police should keep a close watch on protesters.

Sukhwant Bhullar, Chandigarh

QUESTION

Residents of Chandigarh have always been demanding strengthening of the police beat system in the city. What steps should the Police Department of the Union Territory take to revamp the system?

Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to openhouse@tribunemail.com