“There was a little disagreement among the truck drivers who tried to convince others to join the strike. An attempt was made to stop them from loading materials on to the trucks. This is routine,” said one of the members of the Chandigarh Transport Association.

The police, too, denied any untoward incident.

“A team reached the spot as soon as we got information of a traffic hold-up. Everything is under control now. Such incidents are normal during strikes,” said a senior officer.

The strike has hit the industries in the region as most of the raw material, including scrap, is supplied from the city. While the prices of essential commodities like vegetables and fruits have gone up in the wake of the strike, the situation is likely to worsen in the coming days.

Truckers went on an indefinite strike since Sunday midnight to press for reduction in diesel prices, exemption in service and toll taxes and a single permit for nationwide transportation among others.

Markets to open today

With the UT Administration issuing an order to remove the police checkposts from the entry and exit points of the grain and vegetable markets in Sector 26, traders have decided to end their protest and open the markets on Friday.

The decision was taken at a meeting between the traders and UT Administrator General S F Rodrigues (Retd) on Thursday evening.

Earlier, the traders continued their dharna against the setting up of checkposts at the markets. Traders from across the city had joined the protest, threatening to extend the strike to other parts of the city if the issue was not resolved soon.

... contd.