Punjab shutdown as sanitation workers protest police lathi-charge

Markets and businesses across Punjab shut down Thursday as sanitation workers staged a statewide strike over a police lathi-charge in Barnala, disrupting normal life in several cities while emergency services stayed open.

The strike, backed by multiple employee unions and Dalit organizations, followed a July 22 incident in which police baton-charged sanitation workers in Barnala. Police said the charge came after workers threw stones and garbage bags to block a municipal cleanliness drive.

Shops and commercial establishments closed in Barnala, Hoshiarpur, Sangrur, Tarn Taran and Samana, though hospitals, pharmacies and ambulance services continued operating, according to the report.

In Hoshiarpur, members of the Municipal Corporation Safai Karamchari Union, led by union president Karanjot Adiya, gathered at the Municipal Corporation complex before riding through the city's markets on two-wheelers, carrying black flags and brooms and wearing black armbands. 

Union leaders repeated their demand for the dismissal of suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police Satvir Singh, along with a case against him under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. They also called for permanent jobs for municipal workers whose demands have gone unmet.

Police increased their presence in Hoshiarpur to prevent unrest, the report said.

In Ferozepur, most major markets and private schools closed, though government schools stayed open. Shopkeepers voluntarily shuttered their stores, and protesters closed a few banks that had opened, according to the report. 

Deputy Superintendent of Police Sukhwinder Singh said officers were stationed at key intersections and patrolled throughout the day, adding that traders closed their shops voluntarily and police kept the peace. The protest was peaceful, the report said.

Deep Dashanan, national president of the Ravan Ambedkar Mission, criticized the police action and said sanitation workers have been protesting their unresolved demands for nearly 20 days. He called on the state government to regularize contract sanitation workers without further delay.

In Phagwara, vegetable and fruit markets and some schools closed as protesters rode motorcycles from the Town Hall through local markets before returning to the same spot.

Ludhiana saw a near-total shutdown, with commercial centers including Chaura Bazar, Saban Bazar, Ghumar Mandi, Sarafa Bazar, Civil Lines and Bindraban Road closing as shopkeepers joined the strike.

Punjab Police suspended Singh on July 24 following criticism from opposition parties and employee unions, and the state government has formed a special investigation team to look into the incident, according to the report.