Dharnas continue, commuters, services hit

The Sikhs of SriGanganagar in Rajasthan expressed solidarity with the Sikh organisations in Punjab and blocked the Abohar- SriGanganagar road for five hours.
A few dharnas were lifted only at a few roads in Bathinda, Mansa districts and in Muktsar during the latter half of the day.

“I am aware that dharnas are still continuing in most parts of the state,” said Panthpreet Singh, president of Gurmat Sewa Lehar, who was among those who had announced that dharnas would be only of three hours. “It will take at least a day to see the effect of our announcement. The masses are angry and they are showing it to the government.”

“Our struggle is still on but we have reduced the duration of dharnas to avoid inconvenience to the public. This message is being circulated among the masses,” he added.

Malwa bus operators’ union, meanwhile, has asked the government for a solution. The road blockade since October 13 has caused the operators to incur huge losses.

“The whole union condemns the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. We too want that government to take steps to nab the culprits. However this (road blocakde) is no way to protest. Innocent people suffer for no fault of theirs,” said Kala Dhillon, president of Malwa bus operators’ union.
“Although we could ply on some roads on Sunday, we couldn’t do so on many others like the Barnala- Sangrur connection, Barnala- Ludhiana connection and many others. We have no other way to reach these places including in Bathinda and Faridkot as well. We cannot run our business this way. The government seems to be a mute spectator in all of this,” he said.

“The government needs to find out who is behind these dharnas and why they are not lifting the protest despite the Sant Samaj’s announcement,” said Dharamvir Singh Sidhu, a member.

Even transport services were hit. Trucks loaded with goods were seen parked on the side of roads across the state.

“It is festival season and many goods have to enter Punjab,” said Jagdish Chand, a Ludhiana-based transporter. “It is high time now. Road blockades are no way to seek justice.”