Ludhiana: Traders in Ludhiana faced a double whammy on Thursday. In the morning, shops, particularly in the old city, were flooded with rainwater. When the water drained out, protesting sanitation employees and their union leaders made rounds, asking them to close their shops. At places, shutters were downed forcibly.Tension in crowded areas near Chaura Bazaar, Bhadhaur market, Ghumar Mandi and Haibowal ran high. Police personnel were deputed in main markets near Chaura Bazaar to prevent exigencies as sanitation employees protested near Clock Tower.In a few markets, shopkeepers waited outside closed shops to see if they could do business once union members went away. In the inner lanes, a few traders managed to keep their shops open.Protesters’ demandsUnion members announced that they would continue their agitation till the govt addressed their grievances and acted against police personnel who allegedly used force on sanitation employees in Barnala. Demanding regularisation of temporary Class IV employees, they questioned the formation of an SIT to investigate the Barnala incident, saying that facts of the case were already clear.Impact on the groundRoads are being littered with plastic carry bags and other waste in the city, which generates at least 1,000 tons of garbage daily. The situation is particularly sensitive, given the start of the Shravan month.Mohit Sharma, a devotee, said, “People have thrown garbage on the road, without even bothering about temples nearby. This is an auspicious month, and this is not acceptable.”Councillors are appealing to residents to keep garbage bags at home for now instead of dumping the garbage out on the roads.
