GUJRAT: The local authorities have completely sealed both bridges on the River Jhelum near Sara-i-Alamgir Town on Wednesday to prevent workers of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) from marching towards Islamabad.

Moreover, three major alternate routes, including Shahbazpur Bridge connecting Gujrat with Sialkot-Lahore motorway, Khanki Headworks bridge connecting the city with Wazirabad and Gujranwala and Gujrat-Mandi Bahauddin road connecting the city with Lahore-Islamabad motorway at Salam Interchange, have been closed for traffic. These alternate routes were being used by the commuters to reach their destination since the closure of the GT Road.

All the entry and exit points of Gujrat district have completely been barricaded by police.

Meanwhile, heavy police contingents from various districts of Gujranwala division and surrounding regions have reached Gujrat to man various entry and exit points.

An official source said a contingent of Jhang police had been deployed at Shahbazpur Bridge on river Chenab near Jalalpur Jattan, whereas the Rangers had already been deployed in Gujrat since Friday last.

Because of the barricades, the local industrial units, including those of fans, pottery, furniture etc, have been facing a shortage of raw material as delivery of consignments has been suspended. Similarly, the supply of finished products has also been halted because of the prevailing situation.

The internet service also remained partially suspended during the last five days in Gujrat, Lalamusa, Kharian and Sara-i-Alamgir towns.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2021