Punjab-Haryana water wars: INLD blocks national highway

Senior Haryana Police officers were stationed at all five protest points since early morning.

Chandigarh, July 10: Activists of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on Monday blocked the national highway near Ambala and four other roads in Haryana as they started their one-day 'Road Roko Aandolan' (road blockade protest).

The INLD was seeking immediate construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in Punjab to bring more water to Haryana.

Scores of INLD activists hoodwinked the Haryana Police and central security forces and blocked the NH-1 near Ambala, around 45 km from here.

The protestors blocked the busy highway, that links Delhi with Amritsar, at a point two km away from where they were originally supposed to stop the traffic from Punjab from entering Haryana at the Shambhu barrier.

The activists came on the highway and blocked it with their vehicles.

Traffic was also stopped near Dabwali town in Haryana's Sirsa district.

Security tightened

Earlier in the day, hundreds of personnel from central security forces and the Haryana Police were stationed along the Haryana-Punjab border on Monday.

Traffic on highways linking Punjab with Haryana was moving smoothly (till filing of this report at 9.30 a.m.) on Monday.

Senior Haryana Police officers were stationed at all five protest points since early morning.

Security personnel in riot gear, riot-control vehicles and other equipment were put up at all points to maintain law and order.

Authorities in Punjab had decided not to send buses from state-run companies to Haryana on Monday as a precautionary measure.

"As a gesture of goodwill towards the people of Punjab, our workers have made arrangements for flowers which would be given to commuters from Punjab," Chautala said earlier.

"The workers would also urge the commuters to pressurise the Punjab government to complete the construction of SYL canal," he added. The police was likely to divert traffic on some routes in the wake of the protest.

IANS