Commuters a harried lot

Three blockades on a 17-km stretch between Jalandhar and Phagwara made the life of commuters miserable on Monday.

Members of several farmer unions held separate dharnas on the issue of tardy lifting of crop in mandis. While the BKU (Ekta-Sidhupur) blocked the road at Dhannowali near Rama Mandi, the BKU (Rajewal) organised dharna just 3- km away near Bath Castle. The third protest was held outside Phagwara sugar mill by activists of the BKU (Doaba).

As farmers blocked the national highway with paddy-laden trailers, commuters were left to search for alternative routes to reach their destinations. Several bus passengers could be seen carrying their luggage and walking for several kilometres to board another vehicle.

Barinder Singh, who was heading to Ludhiana from Amritsar with his three-year-old daughter on his car, said he took several detours to bypass the first dharna but landed up at the second protest site. On being told that there was another blockade, he said, “I have decided to go back to Amritsar.”