Chandigarh: within a few hours from a lathicharge policeman who protested farmers at Bastara Toll Plaza in Karnal Regency on Saturday, activists blocked all highways and toll roads in at least 12 Haryana District – Jind, Ambala, Kathal, Kaitar, Panchkula, Kaitna, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Karnal.
Traffic was blocked on the call given by BKU National President Haryana (Charuni) Gurnam Singh Charuni.
After Charuni’s call, the leader of Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) Darshan Pal also called on activists to block the road and toll roads until 5 pm.
However, because some farmers in the Karnal District were arrested after Lathicharge, Charuni asked them to continue protests outside 5 pm, until they were arrested released.
The road blockade was appointed later at night and vehicle traffic on all roads was restored after Karnal police released all the farmers who had been collected from Bastara Toll Plaza.
The police have used Lathicharge for farmers when they try to block the Delhi-Chandigarh highway to protest the BJP state meeting led by Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar.
Charuni was the first to react after police action and released a video where he appealed to farmers from all states to achieve Bastara and other high -lands toll plazas.
After some time, he himself reached Bastara to join the protest by farmers.
“This type of action will not be tolerated,” Charuni said.
SKM, agricultural group umbrella organization also appealed to farmers to block the road to express their solidarity to police actions in Karnal in Karnal.
Due to increasing anger among farmers for police actions, protesters gathered in large numbers in several toll plazas and blocked national and state highways.
The protesters vowed to continue the siege of the road until the police released everyone who had been arrested after police action.
The deadlock between farmers and the police influenced the traffic movements on the National Highway Ambala-Delhi, the National Highway Panipat-Rohtak-Jaipur, and other highways, including the East and Western peripheral highways were also blocked.
Punjab farmers and Haryana together blocked the NH-44 (Panipat-Jalandhar-Amritsar) in Devi Nagar Toll Plaza Village on the Border of Shambhu and NH-152 (Chandigarh-raisar) in Saini Majra Village Toll Plaza.
The police asked commuters by car and two-wheeled to take an alternative route, while heavy vehicles were trapped in congestion in several places.
In Kurukshetra, farmers blocked NH-44 in Shahabad and Umri village, NH-152 in Thana Village Toll Plaza, close to Karah Sahib, and Tikri Village in Pehowa and Kurukshetra-Saharanpur Road in Ladwa City.
In Yamunanagar, farmers block NH-344 (Ambala-Rookee) near the intersection of Kail Village on the highway.
In the city of Shahabad Kurukshetra, said the farmer, “the Government of Bharatiya Janata (BJP) in Haryana today reminded us of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre when unarmed people were brutally slaughtered by England; also, police Haryana brutal farmers in Karnal.” In Jind, farmers installed a barricade in the Uchana City Kalan, represented by Deputy Minister of Deputy Haryana Dushyant Chautala.
They also blocked the Baddowal toll plaza at Hisar-Chandigarh Highway, Khatkar Toll Plaza, Jind-Delhi Highway in Gatauli Village, near the Border of Punjab-Haryana in Ujhana Village, Jind-Barwala Road in Kalan Intal Village, Jow-Chandigarh, Jind-Karnal Highway in Alewa Village, and several local routes too.
Farmers blocked the highway at several points in Hisar, Sire and Fatehabad too.
In Hisar, they began to gather in Ramayan Toll Plaza, Surewala Chowk, Chikawas Toll Plaza and Chaudharywas Toll Plaza.
In Rohtak, activists gathered at Sheila Bypass Chowk.
They also keep the streets blocked at Kitlana Toll Plaza, Dhanana Village and Prem Nagar Village in Bhiwani District.
(With input from Ambala, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Jind, Karnal, Rohtak, and Hisar.)