Delhi braces for Jat agitation once again

New Delhi: Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed all over the city from Saturday onwards in the wake of the Jat body’s plan to ghearo the Parliament on March 20. All Metro stations outside Delhi will be shut down from Sunday night onwards till further orders.

To prevent protestors from entering the city, all border points will be under heavy surveillance of the police. “A three tier security arrangements have been made. Tractors and trollies will not be allowed inside Delhi,” said Madhur Verma, Delhi police spokesperson. He further added that 110 companies of forces from other states and the whole of Delhi police will be strategically deployed in Delhi on the day.

Because of the security arrangements, the public may find it inconvenient to commute in the city on Monday as all the routes coming to New Delhi district, including Rajiv Chowk, Rashtrapati Bhavan and parts of south Delhi will be restricted for the general public.

“Vehicles will not be allowed to enter or exit from the New Delhi district, except for emergency vehicles,” said JCP (Traffic) Garima Bhatnagar.

“We will be checking if they have a legitimate reason to enter New Delhi district. They might have to show evidence of for the same,” she added. Considering the ongoing CBSE Board examinations of Class 12 students, the police said, “Parents and candidates should take preemptive measures to reach their destination on time because checking and blockade may cause delay. The police will cooperate with students to reach examination centres on time,” said a senior police official. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) also issued an advisory for students of Classes 10 and 12 appearing for examinations on Monday. “The students and parents are hereby informed and advised to take necessary measures to reach the examination centres well before the scheduled time to avoid any inconvenience in anticipation of the gherao,” the advisory said.

Meanwhile, it is going to be a tough Monday for the Delhi Metro commuters as all Metro stations outside Delhi will be shut down from Sunday night onwards till further orders. Apart from this, 12 Metro stations in Central Delhi will be closed from 8 pm onwards on Sunday till further clearance from the Delhi police. The extraordinary measures, that are likely to throw life out of gear in the national capital, will be enforced in view of Jat groups threatening to intensify their agitation from Monday demanding quota in education and employment.

“DMRC has been directed by the Delhi police to terminate all trains at Delhi border w.e.f 11.30 pm on March 19. It is therefore requested that necessary arrangements may kindly be made for maintenance of law and order at these stations. All entry gates of all Metro stations outside Delhi shall remain closed from 11.30 pm on March 19 till closure of arrangements by Delhi police,” the letter written by the DMRC to the police chief of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad said.

The Metro stations that will be affected by the security measures in place include Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Lok Kalyan Marg, Janpath, Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, R.K. Ashram Marg, Pragati Maidan, Khan market and Shivaji stadium. The interchange facility will, however, be available as usual at Rajiv Chowk and Central Secretariat.

As directed by the Delhi Police, services will not be available at Yellow Line stations at Gurgaon, Blue Line stations at Noida and Violet Line stations at Faridabad.

“The services will be resumed only after getting clearance from the police,” a official said.

Security arrangements will be beefed up at the stations as chaos is expected on Monday morning.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been asked to stay on alert and deploy quick reaction teams at the closed stations. The DMRC staff has been asked not to sell tickets.