Jat quota agitation shuts down parts of Gurgaon; commuters, trucks stranded in areas bordering Haryana

Trucks carrying protesters trundled up and down roads along the Delhi-Haryana border in Mundka while other roads were blocked with concrete slabs taken from under-construction Metro sites .

Hundreds of trucks were forced to come to a standstill at Bahadurgarh’s sector 9 and many people had to cross into Delhi on foot.

Visuals Of The Jat Agitation

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“The bus dropped me off because the border was blocked. I had to walk 4 kilometers to reach Mundka metro station,” said Manju, a 40-year-old woman who works in a factory in Tigri.

“Over 100 youth from villages neighbouring Haryana blocked the roads twice today, once at 9 am and then at 4 pm… We cannot identify any of them because the groups of protesters are leaderless. They are all young men from villages like Nangloi, Peerhagarhi, Mundka, Tigri and Mianwali, who have come out in support of the agitation in Haryana,” said a police officer.

A team of 150 policemen was deployed across Mundka, Nangloi and neighbouring areas. “We have been on alert for the last one week since trouble began simmering in Haryana. But we had to bring out our forces after we heard that people were taking to the streets of Delhi in support of the agitation,” added the officer.

Many shops in the border areas remained shut. “We are also Jats. Our children will benefit if our demands are met. We have shut all shops in solidarity,” said a local shopkeeper.

“Dalits get jobs… they become doctors, magistrates and lawyers. But our children, despite securing high marks, never get jobs. This is only the beginning of our agitation…Tomorrow, we are calling for a bandh in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh,” said Wazirlal, a driver who participated in the protest.

Leaves of all police personnel cancelled

As the Jat quota agitation spread to parts of Delhi, the top brass of the city’s police force cancelled all leaves, citing security reasons. A letter sent by Deepak Mishra, special commissioner of police (law and order), warned that failure to comply with the order would attract disciplinary action. Personnel from other units, including the Special Cell and Crime Branch, have also been summoned. They have been asked to report to duty along with their riot gear, said sources.