The seven-hour Punjab bandh call by the Qoumi Insaaf Morcha from 7 am, demanding the release of Sikh prisoners, received a mixed response across the state on Friday morning, with comparatively scant traffic on roads and markets remaining closed in several parts of the Malwa region.
While government offices and most essential services continued to function, members of the Morcha and farmer organisations staged dharnas at several places, including Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala, Barnala, Faridkot and Moga, to enforce the bandh. On the Barnala-Bathinda National Highway, members of the Krantikari Kisan Union blocked traffic, while they gave way to an ambulance. The protesters were seen guiding commuters to go back as the dharna continued.
In Patiala, the city woke up to relatively empty roads and closed markets. Government-owned buses, however, continued to operate till around 9.30 am. Later, a dharna by the Qoumi Insaaf Morcha workers on the Patiala-Rajpura highway near the bus stand restricted the movement of buses.
The Sangrur bus stand wore a deserted look since morning, while markets in Ludhiana remained partially open. Roads in the Focal Point industrial area were functioning normally, and factories operated as usual.
Rajwinder Behniwal, additional press secretary of the Democratic Teachers Front, Punjab, said, “As per the information received, all government schools are open today, and we have not received any information about forcible closure by any organisation in any school.”
Sources, however, said members of farmer unions and Nihang organisations had reportedly got a few schools closed in parts of Faridkot and Moga, where supporters of the Qoumi Insaaf Morcha are present in large numbers.
In government offices, many employees reached offices early on Friday to avoid traffic hassles. “As road blockades started in a few areas only by around 9.30 am, most employees were already inside their offices,” said a government employee from the Patiala district administration.
In Patiala, Gurcharan Singh, foster father of Jagtar Singh Hawara serving a life sentence in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, was leading the protest on the Patiala-Rajpura road. Hawara has sought a 10-day parole to visit his ailing mother.
By the time this report was filed, dharnas had also started on the main highways connecting Mukerian-Pathankot and Ludhiana-Ferozepur, further affecting traffic movement.
Nearly 7,500 private schools across Punjab are closed on Friday after the Mini Bus Operators Association decided to stay off the roads in support of the bandh.
Jagjit Singh Dhuri, president of the Federation of Punjab Private Schools Association, said, “Schools should also be treated as essential services. They should not be closed during a bandh call. Education is an important aspect of society. We do not object to the demands of any organisation, but schools should be treated as essential services.”
Nihang group led by Manpreet Singh Khalsa reached some government schools in Faridkot district and forced the school principals to send children to their homes.
According to the Morcha, the Sikh prisoners continue to remain in jails despite completing their sentences.
The Qoumi Insaaf Morcha’s call has received support from the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, Krantikari Kisan Union, Kirti Kisan Union, BKU Rajewal, Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, SAD-Punarsurjit, SGPC and several other organisations.
Members of the Morcha said emergency services, including ambulances, would not be stopped during the bandh.
The Nihang group also forced shopkeepers to close shops in Faridkot and later took out a march demanding release of the Sikh prisoners.
Mohali district, however, witnessed a strong response to the bandh call, while the protests remained peaceful. Markets, including Shopping Street from Phase 11 to Phase 6, Sectors 70 and 71, Sohana and other commercial areas, remained completely shut. Shops in Kharar also remained closed.
The Airport Road, which usually witnesses heavy traffic, wore a deserted look. Near Dasomajra in Kharar, protesters and farmer organisations blocked the National Highway, resulting in a long traffic jam. Commuters were subsequently forced to take alternative routes.
Traffic was also blocked at several other points, including the Gopal Sweets junction, near TDI on Airport Road, Singh Shaheedan Gurdwara Sahib in Sohana and the main Phase 7 chowk, where barricades and ropes were put up to stop vehicular movement. The restrictions caused inconvenience to commuters.
However, protesters made way for emergency services without delay. At least three ambulances were seen travelling from Kharar towards Mohali and were allowed to pass through without being stopped.
