Delhi calm after seven days of Gujjar protests

By IANS

New Delhi : Traffic from all border points of the Indian capital plied normally and a sense of calm prevailed Tuesday, with Gujjars – who were demanding tribe status – ending their seven-day protests that had spilled over from Rajasthan.


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"The capital is quiet," said Additional Commissioner of Police Dependra Pathak."Apart from our police force, paramilitary forces are keeping a close watch on Gujjar dominated areas but we are not expecting any violence as the community's leaders have reached some agreement with the Rajasthan government," he added.

On Monday, there were widespread disturbances in the city and its suburbs with the Gujjars, who want Scheduled Tribe status, blocking highways, burning buses and disrupting road and rail traffic. Thousands of commuters were stranded for hours on roads and highways connecting the capital to neighbouring states.

At least seven passenger trains were cancelled and 25 more were affected due to the protest that badly hit normal life in the capital.

"Train services have resumed and we expect the situation to completely normalise in two or three days," said Rajesh Khare, a spokesman Northern Railway.

The Municipal Corp of Delhi (MCD) was busy since early morning, clearing roads and traffic points of litter left by protestors.

"Our sanitation brigade has already cleared the litter and the traffic flow is very much normal," MCD chief spokesman Deep Mathur told IANS.

Mathur said areas like the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road, Mayur Vihar, Patparganj, Aya Nagar and Azadpur were cleaned on a priority basis, as these were the main protest grounds of the Gujjars.

A deep sense of relief prevailed at the Bikaner House here as bus services to several Rajasthan towns resumed. Bikaner House is the office of the Rajasthan State Road Corp from where at least 25 buses carry passengers to Rajasthani cities.

"After an agreement was reached with the protestors, buses resumed their service Monday evening but the passenger flow only went up after 10 a.m. Tuesday," said O.P. Babbar, the station officer at the Bikaner House.

Buses had not been operating between Delhi and Rajasthan since May 29.

Market associations too heaved a sigh of relief as trucks carrying fruits and vegetables entered the national capital without any hindrance.

"Over 1,000 trucks carrying fruits and vegetables enter our market every day and one day of protest is capable of inflicting a loss of nearly Rs.10 million. We must have lost such an amount due to the Monday protest," said M.R. Kriplani, president of the Azadpur Market Association.

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