Jalandhar-Delhi National Highway has been jammed on Sunday as Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) demonstrates at PAP Chowk against police brutality in Haryana’s Karnal. According to SKM, highways and roads will remain blocked for two hours, from 12 pm to 2 pm.
Owing to the two-hour-long protest, roads to Amritsar and Ludhiana have been closed along with Phagwara and Hoshiarpur roads. Heavy police have been deployed at the scene for security reasons.
The traffic situation in the city is worsening as authorities made no arrangements for the evacuation of emergency vehicles. Consequently, two ambulances, one carrying a patient on oxygen support were stranded in the traffic. After a lot of efforts traffic was cleared to make way for these ambulances.
Meanwhile, a military vehicle was also stopped by protesting farmers. The public is obliged to face a lot of problems owing to the protest and road blockade. Angered people have started moving towards the city on foot.
Police, on the other hand, claims that farmers suddenly blocked the road, due to which they did not get a chance to divert the route.
Amarjot Singh Jandiala, District Youth President of Bharatiya Kisan Union Rajewal says, “Farmers in Karnal were lathi-charged by the Haryana government causing is huge resentment among Punjab's farmers. Now, on the call by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, Bharatiya Kisan Union took the protest to the streets.”
District President Mandeep Samra, Chief Spokesperson Jathedar Kashmir Singh Jandiala, Secretary Abinder Singh Sansarpur, and Advisor Amarjit Singh Shergill are also part of the protest.
On Monday, farmers will gather outside the BJP office in Jalandhar to protest against the lathi charge on farmers in Karnal for opposing BJP leaders. Kulwinder Singh Mashiana, a farmer leader,
announced that the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be burned at 11 a.m. tomorrow by surrounding all BJP offices.
He warned that if the BJP continues to harass farmers, they will not hesitate to stage an indefinite protest.
On Saturday, at least ten farmers were reportedly injured after Haryana police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd of gathered farm protesters marching to Karnal. Protesting against the Center’s controversial agriculture laws, the delegation of farmers were moving towards Karnal to interrupt a meeting of the ruling BJP legislators.