The leaders of the Indian National Lok Dal on Monday blocked traffic near Ambala on NH1 and near Dabwali town in Haryana’s Sirsa district as part of their “Rasta Roko Andolan”, reported India Today. The party is protesting the delay in implementation of the Supreme Court’s order on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal water issue.

The blockade was called a day before the next hearing in the case at the apex court.

Security was heightened along the Haryana-Punjab border on Monday ahead of the road block and Haryana police officers were were stationed at five major protest points, IANS reported. Hundreds of personnel from the central security forces were deployed along the border.

Traffic seemed to remain smooth early on Monday morning. However, later in the day, the INLD leaders managed to block vehicles along the highway at Sadopur, Dabwali and Ambala. Punjab and Haryana had announced they will suspend inter-state bus services till 5 pm on Monday as a precautionary measure.

As part of their “Rasta Roko Andolan”, the INLD had threatened to stop entry of vehicles coming from Punjab to Haryana at five entry points on NH1 and NH22 between 9 am and 3 pm on Monday, reported Hindustan Times. Emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire brigades, were spared from the road block, the leaders had said.

“Our protest today is symbolic and will remain peaceful,” INDL’s state unit chief Ashok Arora said, according to PTI. “We are giving flowers to people at protest points and making them aware how Haryana has been waiting for 50 long years to get its share [of water].”

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday termed the INLD blockade a “drama”. He asked whether stopping vehicles from Punjab would ensure water in the state, reported The Times of India.

The Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal controversy

In November 2016, the Supreme Court had called the Punjab government’s law to not share water with Haryana and other states “unconstitutional”. It had also ordered Punjab and Haryana to construct the Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal without any further delay. The canal is meant to distribute water among six states – Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Delhi.