Farmers protesting over the non-payment of sugarcane dues for the past four days here blocked the second side of the Jalandhar-Ludhiana stretch of the national highway on Friday.
Roads leading to Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Nakodar were also blocked by parking tractors, leading to traffic snarls. The authorities had to divert traffic on alternative routes. Police personnel in large numbers were deployed and water cannons stationed near the protest site.
Earlier, the protesters had blocked one portion of Jalandhar-Ludhiana national highway while protesting over the delay in the payment of their dues amounting to Rs 72 crore by a sugar mill here. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) after a meeting here Friday afternoon served an ultimatum on the Punjab government, asking it to either clear the dues till August 25 or face an intensified stir in the form of a massive morcha in Phagwara.
The farmers had started their indefinite protest near the sugar mill on Monday under the banner of the Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba). ''Since the Punjab government has taken our protest lightly, we blocked the other side of the national highway at 10 am today,'' said BKU (Doaba) president Manjit Singh Rai.
However, ambulances, school buses and other emergency vehicles were allowed to pass, said farmer body's general secretary Satnam Singh Sahni. Rai and Sahni said they will not budge till Rs 72 crore was transferred into the accounts of farmers.
Farmers, who had been protesting for the payment of sugarcane arrears, had on Thursday lifted the road blockade from a section of the national highway here due to Raksha Bandhan. The protesters had warned that they will intensify their stir and block both sides of the highway from Friday if their demand is not met.
In Chandigarh Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the state government is committed to clear all pending arrears, which will be paid by September 7. Mann said even private sugar mills, except the Phagwara sugar mill, have assured that they will clear the arrears by September 7.