Sore over the apathetic attitude of the Punjab government towards the industry, industrialists on Monday jammed the main Ludhiana-Chandigarh Highway near Vardhman Chowk for about an hour.The industrialists maintained that this was the last resort they could think of as the state government had refused to listen to their genuine grievances.They said the long power cuts during night hours had caused production losses, order losses and huge financial losses to the industry.Starting from Samrala Chowk, buses and other vehicular traffic were diverted through alternative routes, leaving residents and commuters at the receiving end due to police barricading.All roads leading towards Vardhman Chowk were barricaded by the police, and serpentine queues were witnessed all over for more than an hour. The police were seen making way for ambulances stuck in traffic as the roads were blocked. In the humid weather, those on bikes, autorickshaws and bicycles looked tired and exhausted as they had to take long, diverted routes.Talking to The Tribune, general secretary of the Punjab Dyers Association Bobby Jindal said that for the past 15 days, the entire industry had been suffering due to forced blackouts imposed by the PSPCL.“We pay all the taxes and adhere to whatever the government says, yet we are at the receiving end. We are suffering financial losses, production losses and order losses because of the five-hour power cuts during the night, from 7 pm to 12 am. The industry is the main revenue generator for any state, and Ludhiana, being the industrial hub, cannot afford power cuts. The other day, when we decided to hold a dharna, the authorities intervened and assured us that there would be no disruption in power supply from then onwards. We cancelled the dharna, but again, after two days, the power supply remained the same, with blackouts for the industry. Today, we protested, and if still nothing is done, we will intensify the agitation,” said Jindal.He added that the problem was with the grids, which should be tackled by the government. “Why is the industry being penalised for its own faults?” he asked.“Even if there is a gap between power demand and supply, that too has to be taken care of by the government. Why are they providing freebies?” he asked.Kamal Kumar, another industrialist, said that blocking the highway was the only option left for the industry as government agencies were not giving them a patient hearing.It may be mentioned that all major industrial organisations, including the Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisation (FICO), Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU), United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA) and many others, are up in arms against the state government over the forced blackouts imposed on the industry.