Relief for central Delhi as normalcy eases back in after CJP ends protest

Normalcy returned to central Delhi after CJP ended its protest, with Metro services resuming and businesses hoping for a recovery.

A sense of normalcy started returning to central Delhi late Saturday, after days of protests, brief skirmishes, internet suspension, Metro closures and heavy barricading of roads threw life out of gear due to the sit-in protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and its supporters over the past month.

At around 10.15pm on Saturday, police estimated that a crowd of 4,000 people remained at the site. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

With the CJP announcing an end to its agitation in the evening, leaders of the protest started urging supporters to vacate the area. Barricades that had sealed off several roads around the protest site were gradually removed and traffic movement resumed across key stretches of Sansad Marg, Janpath, Tolstoy Marg, Ashoka Road and adjoining roads.

While heavy traffic was witnessed as thousands of protesters left the area, officegoers, shoppers and traders welcomed the gradual restoration of normal movement. “The area had become a mess. With no Metro, heavy traffic and network disruption, coming to office every day had become an ordeal,” said an office-goer working in Connaught Place.

Metro shutdown, road closures disrupted daily life

Officials of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said that the protest also led to the longest suspension of Metro operations in the network’s history. Officials said Metro services had previously been curtailed during the farmers’ protest, the 2020 Delhi riots and a few other instances, but 16-18 stations were not previously shut from early morning to late evening for over four consecutive days.

“Metro services have been suspended or regulated on earlier occasions as well, but this is the first time such a large number of stations remained closed throughout the day for multiple consecutive days,” a Delhi Metro official said.

The protest also resulted in one of the longest closures of Sansad Marg, as Jantar Mantar—the Capital’s designated protest site—is located close to Parliament and the Central Secretariat, with crowds occasionally spilling onto Tolstoy Marg.

However, the July 20 march drew hundreds of thousands of participants, and after skirmishes between the security personnel and demonstrators, the gathering continued to grow over the following days, prompting authorities to barricade and seal Sansad Marg, which is located between Tolstoy Marg and Patel Chowk, for nearly five days, along with restrictions on movement across adjoining roads.

Businesses count losses after weeks of disruption

The prolonged restrictions also dealt a significant blow to businesses across Connaught Place and surrounding commercial areas. Traders said customer footfall had steadily declined over the past month as protests continued, while the situation worsened after the July 20 march because of traffic restrictions, Metro station closures and internet shutdowns.

Several establishments had also begun shutting their shops early in the evening.

“In this period during the protest, the business for shops reduced by almost 60%, for confectioners, it went down by around 70% and for restaurants, the business went down by nearly 80-85%. Customers had stopped coming because of the restrictions and even those who came had so many hurdles, as online payment was not possible due to internet shutdown, cabs weren’t available and Metro was also shut,” said Vikram Badhwar, general secretary of the New Delhi Traders Association.

The impact was felt far beyond the immediate protest zone. Traders from as far as the Sarojini Nagar market said that most of their customers used Metro and business reduced substantially in this period.

Restaurants, shops see signs of recovery

Restaurants and food outlets also reported an immediate improvement after internet services were restored and restrictions eased. “The majority of our sales are through online orders. Due to Internet shutdown, receiving payment was an issue. We would normally have delivery guys queuing up in front of our shop, which completely stopped. But now, we are able to open the shop after 6pm, which already signals some relief and there’s flow in online orders as well,” said a staff member at Bikanervala food outlet in Connaught Place.

A 23-year-old salesman at Keventers said business operations had also started returning to normal. “Around 5pm, the owner called me today and told me to keep the shop open until 11pm. In the past three days, the shutters used to be down by 6pm,” he said.

The salesperson added, “Since the Metro is operational from Janpath station, working till 11 isn’t an issue. While the business was impacted, for me, personally, travelling was another major concern. I used to travel from Lajpat Nagar to Karol Bagh or New Delhi Metro station and then take an Uber bike.”