2 min readApr 2, 2026 06:40 AM IST
First published on: Apr 2, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST
Delhi people vented their anger at the mass killings in Punjab by giving their whole-hearted support to the call for a Delhi bandh. Industrial and trade activity, even retail, was paralysed. Wholesale markets in Sadar Bazar, Naya Bazar, Khari Baoli, Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh remained closed. The stock exchange did not function and even petty shopkeepers stayed home almost in the entire city. However, some industrial units in Okhla and half of the shops in INA Market in South Delhi, remained open. Banks and other offices reported normal attendance as transport and other essential services like water, electricity and hospitals had been exempted from the bandh.
New Punjab governor
The former CM of West Bengal, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, has been appointed governor of Punjab. He replaces Shankar Dayal Sharma, now moved to Maharashtra.
Changes in Barnala ministry
Changes in the Barnala ministry and a reshuffle in the higher echelons of the state administration are in the offing. With the budget session of the Punjab assembly ending, an exercise is understood to have been started by the ruling Akali leadership for revamping the ministry and the administration. The proposed changes, when effected, will complete the first major overhaul of the present set up after the installation of the Barnala ministry in September.
Influx from Bangladesh
Dhulian in Murshidabad district, a tiny but brisk commercial town noted for its bidi manufacture, faces the increasing stress of infiltration from Bangladesh. According to an official of the municipality, foreigners have concentrated in six out of 14 wards, where a large number of fake ration cards have been detected. Another estimate puts the town’s population at 24,000 and the number of fake ration cards at 30,000; at the nearby township of Arjunpur, the population is 7,000 while the fake ration cards detected are around 9,000.
This is the front page of The Indian Express published on April 02, 1986. 
Share
