Amid these multiple protests, serpentine queues of stranded vehicles could be seen on roads leading to Mansa, Bathinda city and Dabwali
Traffic came to a standstill in and around Bathinda city amid multiple protests on Friday. While the state roadways employees blocked the Bathinda-Mansa road for over 12 hours, members of the Punjab UT Mulazim and Pensioners Sanjha Front held protests across the city on Friday.
Front activists raised slogans against finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal for allegedly creating hurdles in the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.
Union leader Gursewak Singh Sandhu said the Congress government had failed to protect the interests of government employees. He said activists from various districts had gathered in the city to canvass against Manpreet Badal, who is seeking re-election from Bathinda Urban assembly seat.
Meanwhile, passengers were left high and dry as the buses of Punjab Roadways Transport Corporation (PRTC) and Punbus did not ply since morning. Employees of the two roadways unions blocked the entry and exit points of the city bus stand around 8 am and were gathered there till the time of filing of this report in the evening.
The unions were demanding implementation of the old timetable for a level playing field between the state and private transport companies. Jaskaran Singh, district president of PRTC employees’ union, said the government’s “arbitrary decision” was causing losses to the state-run corporations. Talks were held between delegations of the two unions and the transport officials, but could not break the logjam.
Amid these protests, serpentine queues of stranded vehicles could be seen on roads leading to Mansa, Bathinda city and Dabwali. The local police had to divert traffic through link roads to ease the congestion on these roads.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal said efforts were being made since morning to resolve the issue. “Deputy commissioner Vineet Kumar is holding deliberations with higher officials,” she said.
