Protesters Block Garhshankar-Nangal Road for 5

Hoshiarpur/ Daljeet Ajnoha/April 1 : Various organisations staged a five-hour traffic blockade on the Garhshankar-Nangal road near Kokowal Mazari on the Himachal border today to protest the entry tax imposed by the Himachal Pradesh government at Punjab’s borders. The protest, from 10 am to 3 pm, was led by the Lok Bachao Pind Bachao Sangharsh Committee and Azad Taxi Union.
Garhshankar SDM Sanjeev Gaur, DSP Daljit Singh Khakh, Haroli SDM Vishal Sharma from Himachal, and DSP Mohan Lal Rawat arrived at the scene. They accepted a memorandum of demands, forwarded it to the relevant authorities, and assured resolution, prompting protesters to clear the road.
Demonstrators demanded a complete end to the entry tax, warning of intensified agitation if unmet soon.
Lok Bachao Pind Bachao Sangharsh Committee leaders from Beet area—including former sarpanch Kulbhushan Kumar, Ajaib Singh Boparai, Pawan Sharma, Garib Das Beetan, panchayat samiti members Kamal Kataria and Mohan Lal Binewal, Ravinder Bindu Bhumbla, and BJP leader Raj Kumar Rana—called the tax on Punjab borders “illegal” and likened it to a “jizya tax,” accusing the Himachal government of outdoing Aurangzeb.
They noted Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s recent assembly statement in Shimla reducing private vehicle entry tax from ₹170 to ₹70, yet ₹100 was still being collected at toll barriers today. They also highlighted unclear exemptions for villages within 5 km of the Himachal border, accusing the government of misleading the public with contradictory statements. They urged a total scrapping of the tax.
Azad Taxi Union general secretary Ajay Sharma demanded an end to the tax, slamming it as “goonda tax” looting taxi drivers—unlike in other states—and called for halting the exploitation of operating vehicles.
Others present included sarpanchs Parmeet Singh Gadi Mansowal, Balwinder Singh Boparai of Jhonowal, former sarpanchs Kamaljeet Bittu Pipli Wal and Davinder Kumar, sarpanch Naresh Rana of Mahindwani; Tarasem Jassowal of Ek Pehal Sanstha; social worker Daljit Singh Bains; Sachin Dhimaan, Leader Kataria, Mintu Numberdar Dallewal; Jagdeep Singh of Bhartiya Kisan Union Lakhowal; Jasvir Singh, Ajay Kumar, Sukhdev Singh, Naveen Bali of Taxi Union; sarpanch Pradeep Hebowal; Malkiat, Sonu Tibian, Meethu Garhi Mansowal, and Amrjeet Singh Jhonowal.