Chandigarh: Rail and road traffic was
thrown out of gear and normal life disrupted in Punjab and
Chandigarh on Tuesday due to a day-long state-wide bandh called by
radical Sikh outfits to protest alleged inaction against 1984
riots accused.
Shops and business establishments were closed in many
places in the state due to the bandh called by Dal Khalsa and
some other outfits. Private schools and some banks were also
closed at some places as a precautionary measure.
A number of trains originating from Amritsar,
Ferozepur and Ludhiana were cancelled while some others were
terminated due to the blockades set up by protestors between
Rajpura and Shambu on the mainline Ambala Ludhiana section
providing a link to the national capital and Jammu and
Kashmir.
The trains affected included Amritsar-New Delhi,
Shatabdi Express, Amritsar Nanded Sachhkhand Express, New
Delhi Amritsar Shatabdi Express, Amritsar New Delhi Inter City
Express, Amritsar Hardwar Jan Shatabdi Express, Howrah
Amritsar Express, Ahmedabad Jammu Express besides a number of
passenger trains.
Private buses were off the road in several areas of
the state. Few state-owned Punjab Roadways buses were seen on
main state and national highways.
The protestors also blocked road traffic at some
places in the city where the traffic was already disrupted due
to tight security arrangements for the visit of Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh.
Activists of Dal Khalsa and Damdami Taksal did not
allow state owned roadways buses to run in Punjab and
Chandigarh, officials said.
Long queues of buses could be seen outside various bus
stands in Punjab and Chandigarh.
Officials said that the bandh was so far peaceful and
no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in Punjab.
Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh said private
vehicles and emergency services would not be affected by
the bandh.
On October 23, Dal Khalsa supported by the Khalsa
Action Committee, had given a shutdown call for today to
register its protest against the killings of thousands of
Sikhs in 1984.
Chairman of Shiromani Panthic Council Manjit Singh
Calcutta said, "25 years have passed but the country's justice
system has failed to bring the perpetrators to book".
Various Panthic organisations including Delhi Sikh
Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) have extended support to
the Dal Khalsa's call for Punjab Bandh.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 03, 2009, 12:58