BJP’s ‘liquor policy’ blockades jam Delhi

According to Delhi Traffic Police, BJP workers blocked traffic at 15 locations, including ITO, Signature bridge, Akshardham, Uttam Nagar, South Extension, ​Uttam Nagar and Chhatarpur

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a ‘chakka jam’ protest against the Delhi government’s new excise policy on Monday by blocking traffic and deflating tyres of DTC buses at several locations resulting in traffic jams across the city that disturbed movement of vehicles on various arterial roads at least till afternoon.

The protest began at 9am and continued for 2-3 hours, the traffic police said, adding that it took them at least four hours to clear the traffic jams triggered by the protest. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

According to Delhi Traffic Police, BJP workers blocked traffic at 15 locations, including ITO, Signature bridge, Akshardham, Uttam Nagar, South Extension, ​Uttam Nagar and Chhatarpur.

The protest began at 9am and continued for 2-3 hours, the traffic police said, adding that it took them at least four hours to clear the traffic jams triggered by the protest. Around the same time when the protests started, a truck broke down near Safdarjung hospital which added to the chaos between AIIMS and Dhaula Kuan, the officials added.

According to Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot, protesters deflated the tyres of at least 86 DTC and cluster buses. The stranded buses hampered the movement of traffic near Akshardham, in Laxmi Nagar, Uttam Nagar and on Noida Link Road.

“Of the 86 buses, 39 buses were of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and 47 cluster scheme vehicles. All of them are getting repaired. Public transport was severely affected on Monday as the passenger demand was very high as it was the first working day of not just the week but also of the new ear. There is no bar on holding protests, but damaging public property and disrupting public service is not the right way to express dissent,” Gahlot said.

The BJP, however, said they held a peaceful protest, and their members did not deflate tyres of buses.

Adesh Gupta, Delhi BJP chief, said, “Ours was a peaceful protest to raise an important issue to save Delhi. Our workers didn’t deflate tyres of buses.”

Gupta, who participated in the protest at Akshardham, along with party workers said, “Arvind Kejriwal is opening alcohol vends in every corner of the city while in Punjab he talks about prohibition. People in residential colonies are opposing it, but the government doesn’t want to listen. We want the government to withdraw this anti-people policy with immediate effect.”

Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra said, “Taking advantage of the protest by BJP some mischievous elements joined in and indulged in vandalism. BJP’s purpose behind the chakka jam was a pious one, that is to highlight the adverse impact of the new liquor policy, yet if some people have faced problem due to chakka jam we regret the inconvenience caused.”

The Delhi Police did not issue an official response on Monday’s protest. However, a senior officer, who asked not to be named, said, “ Many protesters were detained and released at the police station. At most places, the traffic was cleared by 11-12 pm. At some places it took some more time.”

Commuters between Gurugram and Delhi were stuck in heavy vehicular congestion on MG Road on Monday morning due to the protest by BJP members in south Delhi. From 9am, vehicles started to slow down near the Delhi-Gurugram border, creating a jam that stretched for several kilometres, Gurugram police said.

The police diverted vehicles on the stretch towards DLF Phase 3, connecting Sirhaul plaza on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and Faridabad to decongest the route.Vehicular movement was smooth on other routes, the police added.

Sunita Verma, an entrepreneur, was stuck in a traffic jam for 35 minutes near Akshardham. “I didn’t know about this protest; I won’t have come to Delhi today. People are anyway suffering a lot due to the Covid pandemic and recently imposed restrictions on public transport by the Delhi government. Such protest shouldn’t be allowed at all, especially now,” said Verma, who had a meeting in central Delhi.

At least two DTC buses were stuck on Pusa Road at around noon on Monday because their tyres were deflated. In Uttam Nagar too, a DTC bus was stopped and its tyres deflated. Protesters also took to streets on the Ring Road in South Extension and blocked traffic after which they were removed by police. Many citizens tagged Delhi Police on social media and complained about the traffic chaos in several parts of the city. Until late afternoon, Delhi Police were posting traffic updates on its Twitter handle.

AAP MLA Dilip Pandey slammed the BJP for causing inconvenience to the commuters and “playing with the lives of people”, as he claimed that lot of ambulances were stuck in traffic jam due to the protest. “There is place for protest in a democracy. But the way the BJP has created chaos on in the city, it has just exposed the dirty intent of the party. So many patients suffered because of this protest. There were people who registered for Covid vaccination, but couldn’t go. BJP needs to answer for all this,” Pandey said.