Day 3 of traders' strike: Traffic snarls, lathicharge by cops

NEW DELHI: Day three of the traders' strike in Delhi started on a violent note. The police lathicharged traders in an effort to clear a major roadblock in east Delhi as they took to the streets in large numbers, blocking important intersections and causing traffic chaos on the final day of their strike against sealing.

Private medical practitioners and nursing homes in the Capital also joined in the protest, affecting health services in the city. Delhi Medical Association (DMA) president K K Kapoor, however, said that emergency services will continue to be operational.

Turning out in huge numbers, traders and BJP activists staged a huge demonstration at an intersection in east Delhi, creating a massive bottleneck. The agitators also punctured the tyres of a few buses which added to the traffic chaos.

Raising anti-government slogans, the protesters pelted stones on the police personnel. In an effort to clear the major roadblock, the police resorted to lathicharge.

The morning rush hour traffic was also thrown out of gear in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi as the protesting traders took out a rally.

Most of the major markets, meanwhile, continued to remain shut.

With the Supreme Court monitoring committee asking the civic body to resume action against shops running illegally in residential areas from Thursday, the traders are meeting later in the day to decide their future course of action.

Earlier, the traders had threatened to go on an indefinite strike if the government failed to bring the sealing drive to a halt.