Day 2: Commuters to Punjab stranded

With tempers flaring in several cities of Punjab,thousands of commuters remained stranded at ISBT Sector 43,ISBT-17 and the Mohali bus stand on Tuesday.

Although buses to Himachal Pradesh and Delhi plied without any disruptions,bus services to Jalandhar,Ludhiana and Amritsar remained suspended for the second consecutive day. Buses to Yamunanagar in Haryana were also called off during the day but services were restored in the evening.

No buses to Punjab could be put into service. The disruption is likely to continue on Wednesday too, said Surinder Singh,station supervisor,ISBT-43 Punjab Roadways.

Even taxi operators in the city refused to take commuters to their destinations fearing violent attacks. Many people have approached us to take them to Jalandhar,Ludhiana and Amritsar but none of our taxis have gone towards Punjab today. Most passengers refuse to hire taxis themselves when they are informed that they will have to pay the full fare even if the taxi returns from mid-way. No one is sure whether the journey will be safe, said Raj Thakur,a Sector-49 based taxi operator.

Most troubled were the foreigners and tourists who were forced to while away the hours at the bus stand. We travelled from Goa to Chandigarh by air planning to tour Punjab and to pay homage at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. I had planned a one-week vacation but that seems impossible now, said Ajay Sareen,a retired Lt Commander of the Indian Navy.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram