Uttarkashi: The day-long nationwide transporters’ strike on Friday threw life out of gear in many parts of the state but it was the pilgrims to Char Dham yatra, who are largely dependent on buses and taxis to ferry them, who had to bear the brunt of the protest. Many pilgrims found themselves in a difficult situation as there were very few taxis or buses on routes to Gangotri and Yamunotri.At Dharasu Band, taxi and bus union members forcefully stopped yatra vehicles going to Gangotri and Yamunotri, leading to a heated argument between pilgrims and protesting transporters. Some pilgrims alleged that the vehicles were pelted with stones to force them to stop.Several pilgrims staged a dharna at Gangotri highway protesting against the “autocracy of transport unions and failure of the local administration.”Narendra Chauhan, a pilgrim from Bengaluru, said, “Transporters threw stones at yatra vehicles to stop them from moving towards Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines. Despite pleading with them they did not allow vehicles to go ahead, instead they misbehaved with us. After we staged a dharna and police intervened, they allowed vehicles to go ahead.”Transporters, however, denied that any stone-pelting took place.Secretary, Bhatwari taxi union, Rajesh Chauhan, said, “Nobody threw stones at anybody. We did not misbehave with any pilgrim. We had already declared that no vehicle, including yatra vehicles, should ply on roads. But travel agents ignored the direction for sake of money.”

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