On Thursday, central Delhi came to a complete halt as agitating sugarcane growers went berserk. Shops were forced to down shutters.
Located close to Jantar Mantar, Janpath market was the first to close at 2 pm.
The restaurants on Janpath swiftly downed shutters one after the
other, fearing a backlash from the agitators.
“There were so many people that we got scared. They could have resorted to violence at the slightest provocation,” said K. Sundaram of Sarvana Bhavan.
“We were the first to down the shutter and customers eating inside had to bear inconveniences,” he said. “They had no alternative but to take the fire exit to leave the premises.”
The restaurant remained closed from 3 pm to 7 pm.
Things seemed to be at their worst at 3:15 pm when more than a dozen drunk vandals lay siege on the road forcing commuters on Tolstoy Marg to remain stranded for more than half an hour.
Many stranded commuters locked their vehicles to observe the fanaticism, others feared for their lives.
Protestors also thrashed some street vendors.
“I had parked my vehicle at Janpath parking lot when I got a first glimpse of the commotion. A police official offered to escort me to my office a little distance away,” said Neha Singh (28), a media professional.
Atul Bhargava, president of the New Delhi Traders’ Association, said: “It was very difficult to alert more than 400 members in the half an hour that the police gave us to shut shop.”