Gujjar stir: 4,500 paramilitary personnel rushed to Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: 4,500 paramilitary personnel have been despatched to Rajasthan by the Centre to assist the state government in handling the Gujjar agitation that has hit traffic on the Delhi-Mumbai rail route and a national highway for the eighth day today.

While some of the security personnel have already reached Rajasthan, the rest will be arriving in batches, a Home Ministry official said here.

The paramilitary personnel, drawn mostly from CRPF and BSF, are being sent from different parts of the country.

Gujjar protesters continued to block Delhi-Mumbai rail route and Jaipur-Agra national highway for the eighth day today and efforts are on through negotiations to resolve the stand-off.

The agitators have been blocking rail tracks and roads in three districts for a week now to press for five per cent quota in government jobs.

Members of the community are squatting on the railway track in Pilukapura in Bharatpur, on NH-11 at Sikandara in Dausa and a state highway in Sawaimadhopur.

Karauli district is also affected by the agitation. The number of protesters increased last night on the tracks that included large number of women and children who were armed with sticks and batons.

Meanwhile, Gujjar-government talks are resuming today to discuss on a new formula for 5 per cent reservation though it is not clear whether Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla would be participating in the meeting.