Hot, bothered Patparganj residents lathi-charged

“Today was absolutely the limit,” said Swatantra Chugh, a resident of the area. “We have had no power since early in the morning. And when we call up the DVB complaint office, all they say is that there is a fault in the system.”

As the residents flooded out on the streets, traffic heading in from Lakshminagar and from the Noida road side was completely blocked. And as police arrived to clear the protesters, residents say that they resorted to a mild lathicharge. “There was a lathicharge for about five minutes as the police attempted to clear the protesters who were seated on the road,” said Puran Singh, who runs an auto spare parts shop in the area. However police personel present at the spot denied that there was any lathicharge and said no violence was used.

Residents also allege that one of the protesters was injured when he was almost run over by a DTC bus. “We were all squatting on the road when a DTC bus approached us and stopped,” said Shammi Khan. “Suddenly it started up again and moved towards us. My legs actually went under the bus. Two police personel however dragged me to safety.”

The protesters also deflated the tyres of a DVB van which was passing through the area.