Farmers gear up to put locks on Ladhowal toll plaza

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 27

After locking horns with cloth traders from Ambala, residents and dhaba owners living around Shambhu border, farmers of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) camping at the protest site on Shambhu border, have decided to march towards Ludhiana to put locks on the Ladhowal toll plaza near Phillaur on June 30.

The ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest at the Shambhu border has remained in the spotlight since June 23 after few locals allegedly accused the farmer leaders that due to the protest, they were losing out on their livelihood and facing difficulty in commuting.

The SKM leaders today distributed pamphlets and issued an ultimatum stating that if the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) authorities do not initiate talks and agree to rationalise the toll prices, they would not be allowed to operate the toll plaza. The pamphlets were distributed among farmers at Shambhu border today which read that permanent locks will be put up at Ladhowal toll plaza on June 30 (Sunday) at 11 am.

Sources said that a jatha of farmers would proceed from Shambhu border to Ladhowal toll plaza on Sunday and the remaining farmers would continue to protest at Shambhu border.

An NHAI official said the closing of Shambhu and Ladhowal toll plazas (shut for the past nine days) has significantly dented revenue generation and caused a loss of toll collection of Rs 1.5 crore per day.

Sharing details, SKM (Non-Political) leader Manjeet Singh Rai said that the protest also has a religious overtone. The majority of residents of Malwa region, particularly from Patiala, Ludhiana, Khanna and Fatehgarh Sahib, travel through the Ladhowal toll plaza to visit Golden Temple in Amritsar or Mata Chintpurni Temple in Himachal Pradesh. The toll charge of the to-and-fro journey costs nearly Rs 500 which is exorbitant.

Navratan, project director, NHAI Ludhiana, said the rates were revised marginally as per annual revisions done across the country. “We have told the local administration to talk to the protesters and resolve the issue so that the functioning of the toll plaza can be resumed,” said Navratan.

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