Punjab Newsline | Mohali
Valmiki community has once again called for a Punjab bandh on Thursday (July 30) in protest against the alleged police lathi-charge on sanitation workers who were demonstrating in Barnala over their pending demands.
Community leaders have appealed to people across the state to keep markets, schools, colleges, malls and other institutions closed in solidarity with the protesting sanitation employees. The bandh is scheduled to remain in effect from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, after which normal activities are expected to resume.
According to organisers, several districts including Ludhiana, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Patiala, Pathankot and Gurdaspur have extended support to the shutdown call. However, Jalandhar will not observe a complete bandh.
Representatives of various social and religious organisations in the city said that Jalandhar had already supported a similar shutdown on July 27, and therefore only protest demonstrations will be held on July 30.
Union leaders alleged that many sanitation workers were injured during the police action, claiming that some sustained serious head injuries. Protesters also accused the police of misbehaving with women sanitation workers and demanded strict action against the Barnala DSP.
On Wednesday, members of the Valmiki community staged demonstrations in Amritsar, raising slogans against the state government. Protesters also prepared effigies of police officials, dressing them in women’s clothing as a symbolic mark of protest.
In Pathankot, security personnel were deployed in view of the bandh call, while in Gurdaspur, sanitation workers’ organisations announced a shutdown in support of their demands. Local traders in Gurdaspur reportedly kept their shops closed in solidarity with the sanitation workers.
Authorities are closely monitoring the situation across Punjab as protests continue over the Barnala incident, with security arrangements tightened in several sensitive areas to maintain law and order.
