CHANDIGARH:
A group of Federation activists that came out of Golden Temple complex were dispersed by the CRPF. At Batala 25 km from an Akali worker fired two sounds to scare away the youths who were trying to stop traffic but no one was injured. The police burst tear-gas shells and resorted to a mild lathi charge on Friday to clear the DMC chowk where the students had blocked the traffic at Jalandhar. More than 20 students were rounded up. BSF Jawans posted there. After students collected at Naam Dev Chowk and Sarsar Chowk. They were chased away by the police. Then AISSF activists smashed the wind screens of two buses at the Kaputhala Bus stand and deflated tires of two buses on the Sultanpur road. Nearly forty students armed with lethal weapons were trying to disrupt the traffic near Clourt Road but were taken in custody. Four activities of the AISSF were arrested at Rurki Village on the Kharar Morinda Road after they deflated tires of two busses and a jeep. Eight activists managed to escape. AISSF activist blocked traffic near Gurdwara on the Fagwara, Nakodar Road Ramgharia on Friday. They deflated tires of cars, scooters, cycles. The activists of the Federation also blocked traffic near Rawalpindi on the Fagwara-Hoshiarpur Road, AISSF activist Amrik Singh Johal who was beaten up by the police was admitted to local civil hospital. The gate at the level crossing near the local jail was locked around 4:30 pm by three youngmen, riding a scooter. The youth were said to be AISSF activists who wanted to block the traffic on the G.T. road.
An AISSF member blocked traffic at Garh-Shankar and at DaraPur in Hoshiarpur district.
They blocked traffic near Mann Garantu Buskers remained off the main road in Hoshiarpur district.
But some private buses operated on short routes. Punjab Road Ways maintained its services to Tanda, Dasita Hamirpur Dharmshalla, Forty four workers of the AISSF were arrested in the Sangroor District while they were trying to block traffic on the Amargarh-Nabha Road. The police rounded up about fifty youths at Moga while they were trying to disrupt traffic there; Bus traffic between Abohar, Hanumangarh and Ganga Nagar remained paralyzed until noon. Buses from Haryana, Hamachal Pardesh, Rajasthan, Jamanu and Kashmir did not play throughout the day anywhere in Punjab, On January 10 there were hardly any passengers at Chandigarh, trucks belonging to other states were also not to be seen anywhere, Kharar Morinda, Samrala, Ludhiana Doraba, Khanna, Gobindgarh, Ramgarh and Bassi Rathanan busstand. According to newspaper reports several private transporters had purposely Kept their buses off the road. In the absence of any response at Ropar and Patiala districts the agitation was not much of a success there. Mr. Harinder Singh Kahlon in a statement says that Rasta Rokko programme was a success. Mr. Kahlon said that there was an over-whelming response to the Rasta Roko by the Federation. Releasing the statement Secretary Mr. Sukminder Singh Sandhu said that despite all efforts by the Akali Dal traffic was blocked in the entire state. The state government un-precendently repression by way of police deployment to foil the attempt of the AISSF but eventually the federation was able to block the entire traffic in the State. According to official sources the state government buses did not earn any amount on January 10th.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 17, 1986
