By IANS
New Delhi : There was chaos in the Indian capital and its suburbs Monday with Gujjars demanding Scheduled Tribe status blocking highways, burning buses, disrupting road and rail traffic and inconveniencing thousands of commuters.
Life in much of the capital and its surrounding areas was paralysed with Gujjars demanding a change in their status and the resultant quotas in jobs and education taking to the streets during the daylong protest.
"We used mild baton charge and fired teargas shells in Badarpur and Mehrauli areas in south Delhi after protesters started throwing stones on policemen," a senior police official said.
However, the situation was gradually coming under control, he said.
"After the morning's incidents, we have managed to clear roads and traffic movement is smooth everywhere," he claimed.
But train traffic was thrown completely out of gear as the movement spilled over from Rajasthan.
Northern Railway cancelled seven trains, including the Shatabdi Express, Sampark Kranti Express and the Jaipur-Delhi-Jaipur express, after the protesters blocked tracks near Ajaibpur and Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.
At least 25 trains – among them the Haridwar-Ahmedabad mail and the Ahmedabad Rajdhani Express – were also affected due to protests.
"We have cancelled seven passenger trains to avoid any damage to life and property. The action was taken in the wake of the ongoing agitation," said Rajesh Khare, a spokesperson of Northern Railway.
Special trains to the Rajasthan capital Jaipur have been planned for the convenience of passengers.
Monday began with thousands of protesters blocking vehicular movement on the Delhi-Karnal highway, Gurgaon-Faridabad highway and roads coming in from the satellite towns of Faridabad and Gurgaon, leading to many thousands stuck in traffic snarls.
Angry mobs gathered near Aya Nagar in south Delhi, close to the suburb of Gurgaon, stoned the police and set at least two Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses on fire. The protesters shouted slogans and burnt effigies of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
There were similar incidents in every corner of the capital. Buses were burnt near the border with Uttar Pradesh in east Delhi's Ghazipur and Khajoori Khas areas.
The Delhi-Noida border near Dallupura and the Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Loni also witnessed people burning tyres and blocking roads.
Traffic came to a standstill on the vital Noida-Delhi link road near Mayur Vihar in east Delhi as hundreds of protesters ensured that no traffic got through an entire stretch leading up to the Akshardham temple.
Trouble also erupted at the busy Ashram Chowk in south Delhi. Police detained at least 60 members of the Gujjar community from Ghittorni village for blocking the busy Mehrauli-Gurgaon road, trapping office goers on their way to work in the satellite town or those coming into the capital.
There were also protests in Azadpur and Wazirabad in northwest Delhi, Peeragarhi in west and Sonia Vihar in east Delhi.
Following the protests, police beefed up security at roads along the Delhi border with neighbouring states and capital-bound vehicles were diverted.
"We have diverted all vehicles coming from neighbouring states and traffic cops have been stationed at all points to regulate traffic flow," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) H.P.S. Virk said.
On Sunday, Delhi's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Ramvir Singh Bidhuri led hundreds of people in a protest near Jantar Mantar and in another meeting of the All India Gujjar Mahasabha, where it was decided to call for a shutdown.
The protests that originated May 29 in Rajasthan have also spread to Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The mass anger is directed against the Rajasthan government for having fired at Gujjar mobs, leaving at least 20 people dead.
Also, five people were killed and 20 injured Friday in clashes between Gujjars and Meenas in Rajasthan's Dausa and Karauli districts, taking the death toll to 25.