JALANDHAR/ CHANDIGARH: Normal life was affected in Punjab and Haryana, Tuesday, as the bandh called by Dalit organisations Sant Samaj to protest the demolition of Guru Ravidas temple in Delhi’s Tuglaqabad resulted in traffic chaos.
Skirmishes between protestors and shopkeepers left 12 injured in Mukerian.
The bandh evoked a good response in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Barnala, Phagwara, Samana, Ferozepur, Amritsar and Moga as shops, schools and colleges, were closed.
Members of the Bhim Sena and BSP resorted to picketing of banks, petrol pumps and commercial establishments, while in Hoshiarpur, sword-wielding youths shut down the town.
Kapurthala also saw a total shutdown. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee extended support to the community.
The SC warned against politicising the demolition of the temple on its order and threatened to initiate contempt proceedings against those provoking demonstrations.
“Don’t think we are powerless. We know the seriousness of the issue,” a bench said when the counsel appearing for the Guru Ravidas Jainti Samaroh Samiti, referred to the agitation in Punjab.