Commute from Jaipur to Delhi gets easier as protesters thin out

Commuters travelling from Jaipur to Delhi on the national highway will now have to take only a three-kilometre detour, instead of 140 kilometres, as the numbers of farmers protesting at Shahjahanpur have thinned following the violence that erupted in Delhi on January 26

Commuters travelling from Jaipur to Delhi on the national highway will now have to take only a three-kilometre detour, instead of 140 kilometres, as the numbers of farmers protesting at Shahjahanpur have thinned following the violence that erupted in Delhi on January 26.

HT Image

Farmers protesting at Rewari and Dharuhera also cleared the sites, with many returning to their home towns, while a few moved to their base camp in Shahjahanpur near Haryana-Rajasthan border on Thursday.

Earlier, commuters were forced to take a detour from Behror to Narnaul-Behror-Alwar Road and after reaching Narnaul, they had to take a right to head straight to Rewari and then get back on the NH-48 near Dharuhera. The police said that now, commuters can head straight to Shahjahanpur and take a left before the flyover.

Rajesh Kumar, deputy superintendent, Bawal, said, “Commuters can take left before the flyover towards Jaisinghpur Khera, via Mohanpur, which connects to the NH-48. Another route is through Khandora village, which is also a three-kilometre detour. All the blockades have been removed and commuters can drive straight towards Delhi, except at Shahjhanapur, where farmers are camping.”

On December 14, 2020, over 500 farmers from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana and members of trade unions had blocked the Delhi-Jaipur highway at the Shahjahanpur interstate border in Rajasthan, as the police did not let them enter Haryana.

Prashant Dhillon, a resident of Delhi, who returned from Jaipur on Thursday, said that the alternative routes were difficult to drive on as the routes passed through remote villages that were not suited for heavy traffic. “The policemen at the outskirts of Jaipur informed us that the route is clear and we can go straight on NH-48. It saved at least one and a half hours. The protesters should be allowed to occupy vacant spaces instead of service lanes of the expressway, which results in congestion and confusion among the commuters,” he said.

Another commuter, Dilkhush Juneja, an art businessman travelling from Kotputli to Manesar, said they have suffered huge losses due to the protest. “We had to pay extra to send consignments through the transporters and our clients had stopped visiting us due to the long route and congestion on the stretch,” he said.

The police said they have deployed personnel along the routes to inform commuters about the current situation. Eateries located on the expressway, close to protest sites, also resumed operations on Thursday, with many claiming they suffered huge losses due to the blockades.

Naresh Yadav, who runs an eatery near the Shahjahanpur petrol pump, said, “The farmers had set up their own kitchen and were on their own. No one even bought a cup of tea from us. The main source of income was through commuters, who were not allowed to use the stretch, leading to a financial crisis.”