Protesters block national highway in Gurdaspur for 48 hours

Scores of passengers bound for the Amritsar airport were forced to miss their flights, while thousands of other commuters, including tourists and pilgrims, faced immense inconvenience as a group of 300 protesters blocked the Amritsar-Gurdaspur-Pathankot national highway for around 48 hours.

Besides, tonnes of perishable goods piled up in trucks plying on this route also decayed due to the blockade.

The protesters alleged that a middle-aged man, Ashu Mahajan, who worked as an accountant with a brick-kiln, died due to negligence at a private hospital, which is situated near the Babri bypass on the Gurdaspur-Batala highway.

Mahajan’s kin said he was brought to the hospital two days ago after he complained of uneasiness. “He was brought for treatment of a minor ailment, but the doctors completely messed things up, leading to his death. The doctors are squarely to blame for his death,” said a relative.

In Gurdaspur, the Mahajans are considered to be a well-knit and influential community. They have made a name for themselves in business as well as social circles. They are known to come together whenever one of them faces a problem.

When the news spread about Ashu’s death allegedly due to negligence by hospital staff, hundreds of community members gathered at the site to express solidarity with the bereaved family, said a police officer.

Around 300 protestors started the blockade, and within hours farmers unions and politicians too joined the protest. Some people placed Ashu Mahajan’s body on one side of the highway, which aggravated the situation.

For two days, traffic on the NH was completely halted, even as one could see several km-long lines of vehicles on this route.

The Mahajan community had called for a ‘bandh’ in the city today. A majority of the shops and commercial establishments remained closed during the protest, but they opened their shutters once the blockade was lifted.

“What is our fault? We hired a bus from West Bengal for a sightseeing trip, which now stands cancelled. We started off from Jammu and Kashmir, and planned to pay obeisance at religious places in Amritsar. However, we were forced to spend two days and nights on the highway,” said a bus traveller.

Sources said it was an intelligence failure on the police’s part. They said that the police knew that the protestors would block the roads once news about Ashu’s death spread in the area. Yet, the police personnel failed to take preventive actions. The damage was already done by the time police officers arrived at the scene.

Meanwhile, local politicians had a field day. A good number of them arrived at the scene, delivered speeches in favour as well as against the government, depending upon which party they belonged to, and returned to their homes, unmindful of the damage they had done.

A senior police officer said they had prepared a list of all mischief mongers who were part of the protest. “We will act after the postmortem examination of the body,” he said.

SSP Harish Dayama, however, refuted the allegations of intelligence failure. “It was not an intelligence failure. Moreover, my officers did a good job by separating the agitating family members and the doctors. Otherwise, the situation could have got out of hand,” he added.

It is learnt that Ashu Mahajan’s relatives lifted the blockade only after a financial deal was struck with the hospital management. “This implies that the protestors blocked the highway only to increase their bargaining prowess,” quipped an officer on duty at the site.

Blockade lifted after deal with hospital

• A middle-aged man, who worked as an accountant with a brick-kiln, was brought to a private hospital situated near the Babri bypass after he complained of uneasiness.
• Claiming that he was only suffering from a minor ailment, his relatives blamed the doctors for his death and blocked the highway.
• Accusations of intelligence failure on the police’s part emerged after the blockade prolonged for nearly two days. However, SSP Harish Dayama refuted the allegation.
• The kin allegedly lifted the blockade after a financial deal was struck with the hospital management.