Phagwara: Farmers under the banner of Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) on Monday blocked a stretch of National Highway-44 near a sugar mill here for an indefinite period to protest against the "tardy" procurement of paddy in Punjab. The protesting farmers led by BKU (Doaba) President Manjit Singh Rai squatted on the highway, blocking the Phagwara-Nakodar and Jalandhar-Ludhiana routes.
The district authorities diverted the traffic coming from the Jalandhar side via Mehli-Banga-Khothran roads to Goraya and that coming from Ludhiana via Phillaur-Nurmahal. "Our paddy was not procured nor lifted from the mandis. We have brought a large number of trolleys laden with unsold paddy to prove our point. We will continue the blockade till purchase of paddy begins in all the mandis," said farmer leader Satnam Singh Sahni.
Tendering an apology to the commuters for the inconvenience caused by the blockade during the festive season, Sahni alleged that the Central and state governments forced them to take this step. Ambulances and school children were being allowed to pass, Sahni said.
Senior officials, including Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police Vatsala Gupta, are camping on the spot to oversee the situation.
