New Delhi: Punjab on Tuesday virtually came to a standstill as normal life was thrown out of gear due to the state-wide bandh called by the Akal Takht to protest against the “anti-Sikh activities” of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh.
Barring an incident of dharna, the bandh was peaceful and no untoward incident has been reported so far.
A report from Bathinda said about 25 members of panthic organisations were taken into custody by the police when they tried to stage a dharna at Rampura Phul town. Amongst those who were taken into custody was the head of a gurdwara in Rampra Phul and the head of a kar sewa organisation.
Reports said that public transport remained off the road and there were very few private vehicles plying in Punjab. The only vehicles to be seen on the highways and roads were those of the state police and the paramilitary force personnel who are on patrol duty to prevent any untoward incident.
Sporadic cases of violence was reported at the Jammu-Pathankot road which was blocked by Akali protesters while they burned tyres and shouted slogans.
State transport services of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh remained confined to the Punjab borders and did not enter the state.
All Sacha Sauda centres (deras) in Punjab, including the biggest at Salabatpura, have been cordoned off by the security forces as a preventive measure. The security around major historical gurdwaras particularly the Golden Temple and Takht Damdama Sahid at Talwandi Sabo has also been tightened.
The state government on Monday had ordered the closure of all educational institutions, causing the universities to cancel the examinations slated for Tuesday.
Fruits, vegetables and milk from rural areas could not reach major cities and towns of Punjab due to the bandh. While people in certain parts of the state, particularly in the rural and semi-rural areas, went without their morning papers.
However, emergency and essential services functioned normally in most parts of the state. Hospitals remained open and medical shops particularly those outside hospitals, also remained open.
Badal asks for apology
After several days of restraint, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has finally given in to his political leanings and in a circuitous manner asked for the Dera Sacha Sauda chief to apologise for trying to emulate the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
With the Dera and Sikh religious bodies at loggerheads over the past few days, the state government has been trying to remain neutral, but Badal's demand could be a big blow to the peace maintaining effort.
Badal has so far refrained from taking sides but on Monday he seemed to be taking sides finally faltering as he walked the tightrope to deal with the Sikh-Dera standoff.
"Considering the gravity of the situation, the Dera head must apologise. I am not saying that he should apologise because I am the head of this state, but it would calm the situation. However, it is for him to decide," he had said on Monday.
(With inputs from UNI)
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