Title - Protesters let off steam on railway tracks Up in arms against sealing of shops, traders disrupt rail

Patiala : A large number of Patiala shopkeepers who are up in arms against the state government's sealing drive today hit nearby railway tracks, bringing to a halt the Bathinda-Delhi and Ambala-Ganganagar trains for almost two hours.Amidst raising of slogans against the state government, the protesters squatted on tracks near the local railway station from 7 am to 9 am.It was only after repeated requests by district administration officials that the protesters lifted the blockade.Addressing the protesters, Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal vice-president Nirmal Malhotra said if the state government did not pay heed to their demands, they would resort to hunger strike.Malhotra said they may even gherao Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who would be in Patiala on August 15 for a state-level Independence Day function. "But, final decision on this will be taken by Patiala Beopar Bachao Sangharsh Committee tomorrow," he said.Speaking to The Tribune, the affected shopkeepers said they will disrupt the Independence Day function in case justice was denied to them. "The state government should devise some mechanism to see that hundreds of shopkeepers do not loose their livelihood," said committee representative Rakesh Gupta.

The shopkeepers also expressed resentment against the BJP leadership for failing to come to their rescue. "The BJP, which associates itself with urban voters, particularly the trading community, has cheated us. Not even a single leader has turned up to listen to our demands," said Rohit Bansal, a shopkeeper.

The protesters claimed that BJP's Patiala district president Arun Gupta, Senior Deputy Mayor Anil Bajaj and several other party leaders had not bothered to meet them and discuss the matter. "The apathetic attitude of the BJP towards our grievances has exposed its opportunistic approach," another shopkeeper said.

The protesters also announced that they would stage a dharna on the Rajpura bypass road tomorrow.

Why the protest

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently ordered the sealing of all commercial establishments that were operating from residential areas in 36 Town Planning Schemes in Patiala. The high court had ordered the Municipal Corporation to identify all such properties with unsanctioned building plans by August 14 and serve a three-day notice on the owners. The court had also instructed the civic body to submit a compliance report on August 22 after sealing all such buildings.

Unfruitful meeting

Representatives of the affected shopkeepers along with Patiala Municipal Commissioner GS Sidhu, Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli, ADC (Development) Anandita Mitra and other district administration officials met Principal Secretary (Department of Local Government) Suresh Kumar in Chandigarh on Sunday to discuss the matter. Kohli said Kumar told them that the state government could not intervene as the sealing orders had been issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A few shopkeepers claimed that the meeting was inconclusive.