Chandigarh: Normal life was paralysed and
rail and road traffic disrupted in many parts of the state
following a day-long bandh called by radical Sikh groups to
protest alleged inaction against 1984 riots accused.
The bandh was peaceful, except for a minor clash at Arya
Mohalla in Ludhiana where two groups of people raised slogans
against each other. Pro and anti-slogans led to stone-throwing
before police dispersed them by force.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal later said the bandh
was an outcome of the people`s resentment against Centre`s
apathy towards the victims of 1984 Sikh riots, who had been
denied justice even after 25 years.
A good number of trains were either cancelled or short
terminated following blockades at various places, including
between Rajpura and Shambu on the mainline Ambala-Ludhiana
section and at Manawala near Amritsar.
A senior divisional officer at Ambala said that over
10 trains were either detained or terminated or cancelled in
the division. Services on the Ambala-Kalka and Ambala-
Saharanpur routes were, however, normal.
A few trains from Amritsar, Ferozepur and Ludhiana were
also cancelled leaving passengers stranded. Disruption of road
traffic added to their misery, police said.
The trains detained or cancelled at Ambala included the
Amritsar-Hardwar Jan Shatabdi, Amritsar-New Delhi Express,
New Delhi Amritsar Swarn Shatabdi, Howrah-Amritsar Express
and New Delhi Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab.
Bureau Report
