Yamunanagar: Angry over damaged condition of the Kurukshetra–Saharanpur state highway, farmers affiliated with the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) staged a protest in Yamunanagar on Tuesday, blocking the road for nearly 2.5 hours. The blockade led to long queues of vehicles on both sides of the highway, with at least 6 Haryana Roadways buses stranded in the traffic jam. The protest began around noon near the Damla village area, where farmers gathered under the BKU (Tikait) banner, alleging that the state highway deteriorated to a dangerous extent and posed a daily risk of accidents. They accused the administration and the Public Works Department (PWD) of making repeated assurances without initiating concrete repair work.Police personnel reached the spot soon after receiving information, and attempted to persuade the protesters to clear the road, but the farmers remained firm on their demands. Later, SDM Jagadhri Vishwanath and DSP Radaur Ashish Chaudhary arrived at the site and held discussions with the farmers. During the protest, the farmers also organised a langar on the road, and declared that the blockade would not be lifted until a clear commitment on road repairs was given. Considering the seriousness of the situation, the SDM summoned the PWD executive engineer to the spot. After discussions, the SDM assured the farmers that repair work has already began, and that the road would be made completely pothole-free by Feb 28. Officials informed that the road’s base was completely damaged, and that an estimate of around Rs 38 crore was prepared for permanent repairs. A portion of the road near Damla will be reconstructed as a cement concrete (CC) road. Following the assurance, the farmers called off the protest and lifted the blockade. BKU Tikait farmer leader Subhash Gurjar said, “We met the PWD XEN several times, and each time we were given false assurances. The DC does not listen to our grievances. Earlier, when Parth Gupta was the DC, our issues were resolved. If a single pothole is found after Feb 28, we will gherao the SDM office.” MSID:: 128161843 413 |
