Delhi faces Gurjar ire, six buses torched
Protesting Gurjars in the Capital on Monday blocked arterial roads linking Delhi with Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Panipat, causing major traffic snarls.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Protesting Gurjars in the Capital on Monday blocked arterial roads linking Delhi with Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Panipat, causing major traffic snarls. The agitators also targeted public transport buses, torching six of them in separate locations and damaging several others.
The bandh, however, did not seem to have affected business and economic activity as most shops and markets, barring some in Gurjar-dominated areas, stayed open. Office-goers had to brave major traffic jams in the morning with the Gurjar protesters, expressing solidarity with their community in Rajasthan, burning tyres to block the traffic coming in from the various entry points to the Capital.
Scores of angry Gurjars blocked key link roads at Ghazipur crossing, Wazirabad, Anand Vihar, Badarpur, Mehrauli, Ghitorni, Khajoori Khas, Kalindi Kunj and Mayur Vihar by burning tyres, creating miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road was worst hit as the agitators wielded sticks, attacking city buses. The police burst teargas shells and fired in the air to disperse the protesters in Ghitorni area bordering Gurgaon, in Haryana.
The protesters also clashed with the police in Badarpur on Delhi-Faridabad border.
As many as six DTC buses were set afire in Aya Nagar, Jasola, Dera Usmanpur and Wazirabad, while some buses were damaged by stone-pelting at Khajoori Khas and Patparganj. Security was beefed up at roads along the Delhi border with neighbouring states and capital-bound vehicles being diverted to alternative routes.
The National Highway-24 linking the capital to Ghaziabad and Lucknow was closed for traffic and a posse of policemen kept vigil at Ghazipur Chowk, where hundreds of Gujjars blocked traffic. Trucks carrying vegetables and other essential supplies were unable to reach Ghazipur wholesale market abutting the Uttar Pradesh border in east Delhi.
Delhi Police was put on high alert, especially in the Gurjar-dominated border areas where protesters have blocked roads for the last five days. Border Security Force personnel were also deployed in this region.
The bandh, however, did not seem to have affected business and economic activity as most shops and markets, barring some in Gurjar-dominated areas, stayed open. Office-goers had to brave major traffic jams in the morning with the Gurjar protesters, expressing solidarity with their community in Rajasthan, burning tyres to block the traffic coming in from the various entry points to the Capital.
Scores of angry Gurjars blocked key link roads at Ghazipur crossing, Wazirabad, Anand Vihar, Badarpur, Mehrauli, Ghitorni, Khajoori Khas, Kalindi Kunj and Mayur Vihar by burning tyres, creating miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road was worst hit as the agitators wielded sticks, attacking city buses. The police burst teargas shells and fired in the air to disperse the protesters in Ghitorni area bordering Gurgaon, in Haryana.
The protesters also clashed with the police in Badarpur on Delhi-Faridabad border.
As many as six DTC buses were set afire in Aya Nagar, Jasola, Dera Usmanpur and Wazirabad, while some buses were damaged by stone-pelting at Khajoori Khas and Patparganj. Security was beefed up at roads along the Delhi border with neighbouring states and capital-bound vehicles being diverted to alternative routes.
ADVERTISEMENT
The National Highway-24 linking the capital to Ghaziabad and Lucknow was closed for traffic and a posse of policemen kept vigil at Ghazipur Chowk, where hundreds of Gujjars blocked traffic. Trucks carrying vegetables and other essential supplies were unable to reach Ghazipur wholesale market abutting the Uttar Pradesh border in east Delhi.
Delhi Police was put on high alert, especially in the Gurjar-dominated border areas where protesters have blocked roads for the last five days. Border Security Force personnel were also deployed in this region.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
