Gurugram traffic police remove vehicles of protestors from Delhi-Jaipur e-way

The traffic police said Monday is going to be challenging in terms of managing traffic when people are expected to participate in the protest rally that members of the Ahir community are planning to take out

Gurugram traffic police on Saturday removed all the vehicles of members of the Ahir community--who launched an indefinite protest at the Kherki Daula toll plaza on Friday morning demanding a separate regiment for Yadavs in the Indian Army-- from the Delhi-Jaipur expressway to the service lane parking and asked them to park only at designated spots to ensure smooth movement of traffic.

Hundreds of members of the Ahir community gathered at the toll plaza on Friday, causing a traffic jam that extended for 2km up till Narsinghpur. (Vipin Kumar /HT PHOTO)

Hundreds of people from across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh led by the Sanyunkt Ahir regiment Morcha gathered at the toll plaza on Friday, causing a traffic jam that extended for 2km up till Narsinghpur.

Commuters travelling from Rajasthan and Manesar towards Delhi between 10 am and 1pm were most affected as they had to wait for nearly 40 minutes to cross the stretch or take a detour. The service lanes were also blocked and the protestors did not allow vehicles to cross the toll plaza.

Heavy vehicles coming from Bilaspur, which connected with the highway at Hero Honda Chowk, were diverted to Pataudi on Friday. Other vehicles going towards the toll plaza were diverted towards the Southern Peripheral Road connecting Vatika Chowk.

On Saturday morning, police teams were deployed at all the traffic congestion points on the stretch and got the road cleared by removing the vehicles of the protestors.

Ravinder Tomar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said the traffic was brought under control on Friday itself as they diverted vehicles to alternative routes to ensure smooth flow of traffic. “On Saturday, there was no diversion of traffic and no congestion was reported from the Delhi-Jaipur expressway. The number of protestors at the site also reduced and only a bunch of people were found sitting in the tents erected by them,” he said.

Tomar said three teams are deployed at different stretches to keep a track on traffic movement starting from Bilaspur. “Our prime focus is on Kherki Daula as thousands of people use this stretch and if any congestion is reported here, it reflects through the entire expressway. Since it is a weekend, the volume of traffic is less but Monday is going to be crucial for managing traffic,” he said.

Leaders of the Ahir community said their demand for a regiment exclusively for Yadavs is long pending and should be met as other castes too have regiments named after them.

Manoj Yadav, a resident of Kakrola village and founder member of the trust, said more people will join the protest from Monday morning and the protest will gain momentum in other places, including the national capital. “We have organised a panchayat on Sunday, where we will take a decision on taking out a rally from the Kherki Daula toll plaza to Narsinghpur again on Monday. We have informed our contemporaries to join us in the protest and we are expecting at least 10,000 people from other states,” he said.

Traffic police teams have been directed to manage the traffic and keep a strict vigil. If anyone is found taking law and order in their hands, strict action will be taken against them, said police.