Kurukshetra: A group of farmers blocked the New Delhi-Amritsar national highway in Kurukshetra district of Haryana for several hours, alleging failure on part of the state government to procure paddy.
The road blockade, which began at Pipli around 2 pm, caused inconvenience to commuters.
Hundreds of farmers squatted on both carriageways of the national highway. They alleged that though the Haryana government had announced starting the purchase of paddy from October 3, a huge quantity of the crop was lying outside mandis to be procured.
Long queues of vehicles could be seen on both sides of the road despite the police diverting traffic through village roads. Commuters stuck in the traffic jam had a harrowing time.
The traffic on the Ambala-Hissar road was also blocked by farmers at Ismailabad and Pehowa.
Passengers, especially those travelling by buses, suffered the most.
Sunita Devi, travelling from Delhi to Chandigarh in a bus, said her children were exhausted because of the traffic jam.
The police had issued an advisory on social media to commuters for using alternative routes to reach their destinations.
Farmer leader Sukhbir Singh said they will not lift the blockade till the government begins procurement of paddy.