CHANDIGARH: Ahead of the farmers’ “Dilli Chalo” protest on February 13, commuters on the National Highway-44 have started facing inconvenience with the Haryana Government sealing the interstate border with Punjab at Shambhu on Saturday. The Kurukshetra-Patiala border and some rural routes in Kurukshetra were also sealed.
Long queues of vehicles were witnessed at the Shambhu border with commuters claiming that the highway was shut without prior information.
The Haryana Police issued an advisory for people travelling on the Chandigarh-Delhi National Highway-44. People going from Chandigarh to Delhi are advised to take alternative routes via Dera Bassi, Barwala/Ramgarh, Saha, Shahabad and Kurukshetra, or through Panchkula, NH-344 Yamunanagar, Indri/Pipli and Karnal.
Similarly, those travelling from Delhi to Chandigarh are advised to reach their destination via Karnal, Indri/Pipli, Yamunanagar, Panchkula, or via Kurukshetra, Shahabad, Saha, Barwala and Ramgarh. Preparations have been made to divert traffic in some districts, mainly Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Fatehabad and Sirsa.
ADGP Law and Order Mamta Singh said, “We have issued an advisory for traffic going towards and coming from Delhi. This has been done to avoid inconvenience to commuters in the eventuality of emergency road closures.”
An official said the authorities were in the process of closing the Ambala-Chandigarh highway. Due to the heavy flow of traffic, they were facing some issues. Other highways, including Ambala-Kala Amb, would also be closed and 11 checkpoints would be set up in Ambala, he said.
In Fatehabad district, the Brahmanwala and Rojanwali roads in Ratia and Munak road in Tohana were closed. In Jind, the Data Singh Wala road was shut partially and in Sirsa, one side of the Dabwali road was closed.
DGP Shatrujeet Kapur along with senior police and administrative officials on Saturday inspected preparedness at the Shambhu and Sadopur borders.
Cemented blocks and barricades have been placed at the borders to stop farmers from proceeding towards Delhi. The three-layer barricading and heavy police deployment were in place.
On the other hand, farm activists continue to post videos on social media, challenging the government to stop them. They claimed they were ready to break the barricades. Ambala Deputy Commissioner Dr Shaleen said, “Paramilitary force has been deployed. The district police will remain deployed at key checkpoints to maintain law and order.”