Activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) blocked the Fazilka-Abohar National Highway here this evening in protest against the alleged detention of their activists and leaders by the Faridkot police on Saturday.District president of the union, Pragat Singh, said the union had been staging protests at different places across Punjab since April 11, demanding a waiver of loans taken by farmers from cooperative banks.He said union activists had been staging a peaceful protest outside the Land Mortgage Bank, also known as the Agriculture and Rural Development Bank, on Abohar Road on Saturday.He said they received a message from the state-level office-bearers that some of their fellow activists had been rounded up by the Faridkot police. Following the directions of the state-level office-bearers, the activists blocked the Fazilka-Abohar National Highway for several hours. The blockade continued till late in the evening.The traffic had to be diverted through nearby localities, causing inconvenience to residents.The activists also reportedly had a heated exchange with a nearby shopkeeper who objected to the road blockade, saying the closure of the highway was causing heavy financial losses to shopkeepers and demanding that the dharna be lifted immediately.