Punjab: A minor clash broke out between members of Bharti Kisan Union (Siddhupur) and residents of Waring village over the closure of Waring toll plaza on Muktsar-Kotkapura road on Sunday. Villagers alleged that the police present on the spot used mild force. The issue flared up when union workers tried to close the plaza. They said that the company had failed to build new bridges on the widened road, so it should be closed immediately. However, the villagers opposed the move and argued that it would render around 25 youths of the village, who worked with the toll operator, unemployed. They reminded that the plaza has been closed for almost two years since eight people died when a bus fell into a canal in September 2023.
At that time, another farmers union had staged an indefinite dharna, which ended on July 16 this year after the company assured the district administration that construction of new bridges would begin soon. Toll plaza manager Jatinder Patel said, “We recently held a meeting with the farmer union that had organised the first protest and the district administration. We assured them that the work on the bridges would begin within two months. However, today workers from another union came to close it, which the villagers opposed. Now a meeting has been scheduled with the district administration on Monday.” Meanwhile, village sarpanch Jugraj Singh said, “We will not allow the toll plaza to be closed again, as our youth have already suffered huge financial losses.”
