Patiala, Nov 14 (PTI) Traffic diversions were effected at the Shambhu border on Friday after Qaumi Insaaf Morcha had given a call for “Delhi chalo” march.
However, there was heavy barricading on the Haryana side of the Shambhu border.
The leaders and activists of the QIM, along with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, gathered at the Shambhu border point on the Punjab side and, in the evening, decided to return after they handed over a memorandum of demands to a senior official from the central government.
The authorities in Punjab and Haryana had on Thursday issued traffic advisories ahead of the march to Delhi by the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha and some farmer outfits.
According to an advisory of the Punjab police, the Shambhu Border point on the Rajpura-Ambala-Delhi highway will remain shut from 7 am till 6 pm on Friday.
Commuters had been advised to take alternative routes to reach their destinations.
The Qaumi Insaaf Morcha is seeking the release of Sikh prisoners, claiming that they remain incarcerated despite completing their sentences.
The protesters reached the Shambhu toll barrier in the morning.
Heavy barricading had been done on the Haryana side of the Shambhu border by the Ambala police, and they were not allowed to march ahead.
The heavy barricading forced the protesters to halt their march at the Punjab-Haryana boundary.
The QIM leadership later handed over a memorandum to a senior official of the union government at the site.
The memorandum’s key demands include the release of Sikh prisoners who have completed their sentences.
The protesters are also demanding justice in the 2015 sacrilege and police firing incidents in Faridkot.
Earlier in the day, the police stopped the first tractor trolley near the barricades and directed it to park nearby.
Protesters maintained that if they were not allowed to proceed to Delhi, they would remain at the border till evening and disperse.
To prevent any attempt at establishing a “pakka morcha (permanent protest at the site), police barred trolleys from being parked on the highway.
The farmers who managed to reach Shambhu were asked to move their vehicles to a vacant plot to park.
There was a heavy deployment of police at the site.
Traffic movement between Rajpura and Shambhu remained suspended for several hours, prompting diversions through Patran and Ghanaur in Patiala district for those travelling towards Ambala and Delhi.
Commuters from Mohali and Chandigarh had been advised to use the Ambala-Zirakpur route.
Punjab and Haryana Police had already issued detailed traffic advisories for November 14, directing commuters to alternative routes.
Notably, the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha has been laying a siege in Sector 52 and 53 of Chandigarh and YPS Chowk in Mohali since January 7, 2023, in support of their demands. PTI COR SUN SMV SMV HIG HIG
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