While Panchkula was burning, Chandigarh and Mohali wore a deserted look just ahead of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court convicted Sirsa based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a case of sexual exploitation on Friday.

The life of common people living in both the cities came to a complete halt with empty roads. People preferred to remain under roofs while apprehending the untoward situation. The patients from across the region who had come to get the treatment at region’s premier health care Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) were in a fix amid the ongoing tensions.

They said that the transport services are disrupted and they cannot move back to their homes at the moment. “We came to PGIMER today and have to attend the OPD again on Tuesday. We are not moving back amid the ongoing violence in the region. We are looking for a safe place where we can spend time till we attend the next OPD call,” said Niranjan Das, a patient from Himachal Pradesh.

The OPD staff at PGIMER said, there was a dip of nearly 50 per cent in the patient registrations as compared to over 8,000 Out Patient Department (OPD) on a daily basis. Similar was the situation at city’s other government hospitals such as Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH) in Sector 16 and Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Sector 32 where OPDs remained awaiting patients.

Chandigarh Congress president, Pradeep Chhabra accused the Haryana government for failing in maintaining law and order. He said if the High Court would not have intervened the situation had gone bad. “It was an unannounced curfew in Chandigarh leaving the normal life standard. Many interviews were cancelled, patients could not get treated, including other important affairs of routine life. This incident would be considered as the worst part in the history of Tricity’s law and order situation,” he said.

Earlier, local Member of Parliament (MP) had appealed to the Chandigarh residents to stay in their homes so that they can be safe. She said that keeping in mind the safety of residents of Chandigarh, it is desired that residents should go out of their homes in case of urgency only to avoid any inconvenience. She said that UT administration has already declared a holiday in educational institutes for two days keeping in view the safety of students.