Shutdown affects life in Punjab

Chandigarh  :  The nationwide shutdown call by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and left parties affected normal life in Punjab and got a mixed response in Haryana and Chandigarh Thursday.

Shiv Sena members were on the streets, forcing shops to down shutters in Amritsar city, 250 km from here. Shops in several areas of the Sikh holy city remained shut.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance in Punjab has supported the shutdown call.

At most places, political functionaries in the government and ruling party legislators led the protests for the shutdown.

Reports of shutdown of shops and other establishments were received from Patiala, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and other places.

With the private bus transporters joining the nationwide strike against the hike in diesel prices, most of the buses remained off the roads in Punjab.

The state roadways long-route buses also did not ply Thursday.

Most bus stands wore a deserted look in Punjab.

In Amritsar, BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu led a protest against the policies of the central government.

“We have taken out the funeral procession of this government,” he told reporters.

The ruling Akali Dal claimed that the shutdown in Punjab was complete and thanked the people for their support.

In Chandigarh, shops were open in most sectors.

A number of schools, offices and other establishments had announced a holiday in wake of the shutdown call.

In Haryana, opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) workers stopped a local train in Gharaunda town, 130 km from here.

The Palwal Express train was stopped by BJP workers in Faridabad city, adjoining Delhi.