Security tightened along Haryana-Punjab border for INLD protest

Hundreds of personnel from central security forces and the Haryana Police were stationed along the Haryana-Punjab border on Monday in view of the road block protest by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

Traffic on highways linking Punjab with Haryana was moving smoothly (till filing of this report at 9.30 a.m.) on Monday.

Senior Haryana Police officers were stationed at all five protest points since early morning.

Security personnel in riot gear, riot-control vehicles and other equipment were put up at all points to maintain law and order.

The INLD leaders and activists were expected to gather at these five places later to stop vehicles from Punjab from entering Haryana under its 'Road Roko Aandolan'.

The vehicles would be stopped at five places - the Lalru-Chandigarh stretch on National Highway-1, Ambala-Shambhu border on NH-1 (Delhi-Ambala-Amritsar road), Narwana-Dhanauri border, Ratia-Budhlada road (Jakhal point) in Fatehabad district and Dabwali in Sirsa district.

Emergency vehicles, like ambulances, would be exempted from the protest, INLD leaders said.

INLD General Secretary Abhay Singh Chautala would go to all five protest points on a helicopter.

The INLD was seeking immediate construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in Punjab to bring more water to Haryana.

Authorities in Punjab have decided not to send buses from state-run companies to Haryana on Monday as a precautionary measure.

"As a gesture of goodwill towards the people of Punjab, our workers have made arrangements for flowers which would be given to commuters from Punjab," Chautala said earlier.

"The workers would also urge the commuters to pressurise the Punjab government to complete the construction of SYL canal," he added.

The police was likely to divert traffic on some routes in the wake of the protest.

--IANS

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