Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Sikh leadership has called for a bandh in Punjab on Tuesday. The Sikhs have appealed not just to the Akal Takht to support their bandh, but has requested the whole of Punjab to comply.
And it seems that Punjab is not the only state which is complying. The bandh has spilled over into Jammu as well.
Sikh organisations in Jammu have called for a complete bandh, in support of the Akal Takht's demand to close all deras in Punjab.
The bandh is being supported by the Shriomani Gurdwara Prabhandak Board and Sikh Students Federation. The local BJP, Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party, Taxi Operators Association and Chamber of Commerce are also supporting the bandh.
Sikhs in Jammu have been protesting for over a week now against the Dera Guru Baba Gurmit Singh Ram Rahim.
Sikh protestors blocked the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway for over three hours. In the border district of Poonch also, protestors took to streets and closed down the markest.
Violence was also reported from Poonch, with the crowd damaging a higher school building in Poonch, where classes were going on.
Meanwhile in Punjab, normal life was partially affected following the day-long bandh. No violence was reported from any part of the state during the first two hours of the bandh, officials said adding as many as 3,600 paramilitary personnel have already been deployed in sensitive areas across Punjab.
Educational institutions and many commercial establishments remained closed while road traffic was affected in many parts of the state, including Bhatinda, Sangrur and Faridkot districts.
The buses operated by Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan governments are also not plying in the state due to the bandh. Railway officials said long distance train services were not affected by the bandh.
A ring of three-tier security had been thrown around the branches of the Sirsa-based sect in Punjab, including its biggest Dera in Salabatpura village in Bathinda district. The examinations slated for today in universities and colleges in the state have been postponed in the wake of the bandh call.
(With inputs from PTI)
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