Ramdev & Co lock down Capital

Police put up barricades on the Ranjit Singh Flyover and lined up DTC buses to ferry the protesters to a makeshift jail in Bawana — a prospect that most people in the Tricolour-waving crowd had hoped for.

“We will be more than happy if the police arrest us. We will not indulge in violence,as Baba has asked us not to,” said Rameshwar Rao,a member of Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar.

As Ramdev and his supporters choked the city’s roads,commuters in Central and New Delhi areas were stuck in long traffic snarls. Many passengers missed their trains.

The route towards Delhi Gate was blocked for close to five hours. An official at Lok Nayak Hospital said: “The protesters clogged the stretch,blocking the entry to the hospital. The ambulances could not come inside.”

The fact that there was a last-minute change in plan by police — the protesters were taken to Ambedkar Stadium instead on Bawana — added to the chaos on the roads.

This made the traffic advisory,issued by police earlier,redundant. “Initially,we advised the commuters to take Delhi Gate via Mandi House to reach the W-Point and then ITO. But,as the protesters blocked the way,there was a sudden change in the plan to take them to the Ambedkar Stadium. By then,Delhi Gate,Jawaharlal Nehru Marg,Paharganj and DB Gupta Road areas were choked,” a traffic official said.

Police said when the protesters were first stopped at Ranjit Singh Flyover,they sat on the road and courted arrest.

But a few supporters,who had experienced last year’s police crackdown,chose to evade arrest.

“Last time,they took me to Ghaziabad and made my wife board a bus to Haridwar. This time we will go behind Baba only,” said Kishan Chand,who had come from Orissa.

By 6 pm,three hours since the police started out for Bawana with the protesters,the buses had only reached Ambedkar Stadium. At the intersection of Bahadurshah Zafar Marg and Jawaharlal Nehru Marg,Ramdev stopped his bus and got into a discussion with police.

Police then announced: “We have decided to turn Ambedkar Stadium into a jail. Please enter peacefully.”

Ramdev led the way into the stadium,with the supporters in tow.

Inside the police announced that everyone was free to go under the 65 DP Act,but Ramdev asked all to stay.