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Agnipath scheme sparks protests in some Uttar Pradesh districts
Bulandshahr, Meerut, Agra, Mathura, Unnao, Gorakhpur, Gonda and Ballia were among the districts which witnessed the protests with youths demanding withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme.
Protests against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for short-term contractual recruitment in the armed forces erupted in different parts of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. However, no injury was reported.
Bulandshahr, Meerut, Agra, Mathura, Unnao, Gorakhpur, Gonda and Ballia were among the districts which witnessed the protests with youths demanding withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme.
The Agnipath scheme was announced on Tuesday (June 14) to recruit jawans into the army, the navy and the air force for a four-year-period followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits. Under new policy, 25 per cent of them would get a chance for permanent recruitment on the basis of their performance.
In Bulandshahr, protestors blocked the busy GT Road.
Protestors gathered in Khurja locality and the city area and demanded that the central government withdraw the scheme.
“We strongly oppose the new recruitment scheme. We want the old recruitment scheme back,” a protestor said while staging a demonstration.
Bulandshahr superintendent of police Shlok Kumar said, “Some youngsters gathered to stage protest in the morning. They called off the protest on the assurance of officials.”
Job aspirants pelted at a government bus in Agra with stones, according to the news agency PTI.
Police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
Besides, youths gathered on the Agra-Delhi Highway on Thursday morning, seeking revival of the old recruitment policy in the armed forces.
Officials reached the spot and convinced protestors to withdraw their agitation.
Soon, protests also began at SBI crossing on MG road in Agra city at about noon, bringing traffic to standstill.
“A handsome number of students come to Agra to prepare of exams through coaching centres. These job aspirants reached here and blocked the road. SP City Vikas Kumar reached the spot with force,” Agra SSP Sudhir Kumar Singh said.
“These protesters were convinced to lift the road block and traffic resumed,” the Agra SSP said.
Similar protests were staged near Raipura Jat on the Agra- Mathura border and vehicles on National Highway got blocked.
In Meerut, youths preparing for employment in the defence forces gathered outside the Meerut divisional commissioner’s office on Thursday and shouted slogans, demanding withdrawal of the new Agnipath scheme..
The youths said they would launch a “March to Delhi” if the decision was not withdrawn in the next three days.
They also handed over a memorandum for the divisional commissioner and warned they would block highways and expressways in the coming days.
Sagar Tomar of Jitauli village in Meerut, who has been preparing for recruitment in the armed forces for five years, said, “The new recruitment policy has made me worried about the future”.
Protests were also reported in Gorakhpur, Gonda and Unnao districts where youths not only staged demonstration but also blocked roads against the new policy.
In Aligarh, protestors sought to target vehicles. Police used mild force to disperse these protestors.
Police also had to use force in Shikohabad area of Firozabad when protestors blocked a highway.
In Ballia and neighbouring districts, movement of some trains was affected due to the protests, an official said.
A group of around 60 people staged a protest and raised slogans against the central government in Kotwari area under Rasra police station limits in Ballia.
“This scheme will affect the future of those candidates who want to serve the nation for 10 years and not just for four years,” a protestor requesting anonymity said.
Some passenger trains were affected due to the protest, an official said. Train 12562 Swatantrata Sainani Express running from Delhi to Jai Nagar on the Varanasi-Chhapra rail section was halted at Ballia railway station at 10.47am, North Eastern Railways’ public relations officer Ashok Kumar said.
Train 14006 Lichchavi Express was halted at Bhatni railway station at 10.25 am and train 15054 Lucknow Chhapra Express at Ghazipur railway station at 11.25 am.
This was done as a precautionary measure in the wake of protests in Ballia and some districts of Bihar neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, he said.
(WITH PTI INPUTS)
