Patiala: Traffic and commerce across the northern region face major disruptions next month after agrarian and transport unions announced a coordinated border blockade of Himachal Pradesh to protest a controversial entry tax.Their coalition will shut down 55 checkpoints along the Punjab and Haryana borders of HP for four hours on June 1, escalating a regional dispute over transit levies. The 11am-to-3pm blockade is a direct challenge to the Himachal Pradesh govt’s special road tax and revised entry fees on commercial and tourist vehicles.Surrounding states argue the levies harm regional tourism and the transport sector, resulting in “double taxation” for commercial taxis, luxury buses, and freight carriers originating from Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi.Punjab Morcha convener Gaurav Rana and Kirti Kisan Morcha state president Veer Singh Barwa said their agitation will intensify if the hill state refused to rescind the tax policy. Nihang Sikh organizations have also backed the strike.Key target zones for the blockade include major arterial links such as the Garha tax point on the Kiratpur Sahib-Manali highway and the Kolanwala Doba point on the Naina Devi route, alongside border crossings in Hoshiarpur and Pathankot.To increase economic pressure on HP, legal and union advisers have submitted a draft proposal to Punjab ministers, urging the state cabinet to implement a “reciprocal tax” targeting HP’s govt and commercial vehicles, while exempting local border towns.A farmer union official said during a joint press briefing in Ropar: “While the people of Himachal Pradesh are our brothers, we must take economic measures against their govt to force a withdrawal of this unfair levy.”Protest organisers also blamed Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann for “political ambiguity”, alleging he failed to clarify his administration’s official stance during recent visits to border districts. The unions have urged Himachal Pradesh traders and taxi operators to stage internal protests before May 30, warning of a broader economic boycott “if the state govt remains obstinate”. MSID:: 131230455 413 |
