STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Normal life was partially affected here Friday due to a ‘chakka jam’ called by the All Jammu and Kashmir Transport Welfare Association (AJKTWA) to press its demand for the removal of a toll plaza along the Jammu-Pathankot highway in Samba district.
Public and private transport was off the roads, hitting the movement of the people in the city. Lack of transport facilities also affected attendance in educational institutions.
However, shops and business establishments remained opened.
Led by AJKTWA Chairman Ajit Singh, hundreds of people from various associations assembled in the Bhagwatinagar area, and held protest demonstrations against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over bad condition of the highway. They demanded abolition of the newly set up Sarore toll plaza.
Raising slogans against the NHAI, they took out a protest rally to the toll plaza. Hundreds of vehicles remained lined up in one tube of the highway during the protest rally.
“We are protesting against the NHAI in view of the bad condition, damaged bridge and toll plaza issue. We are taking a rally to Sarore toll plaza to support the demand,”Singh told reporters here.
He said that despite protests for months by various organisations, the “NHAI is yet to wake up and resolve the issue”.
The hunger strike by Dogra Aketa Front organised at Samba continued for 9th consecutive day on Friday.
A day-long bandh was observed on the issue last Saturday on a call given by the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI) and was supported by several political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, including the Congress, the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party.