No clear direction led to chaos, many left out

Nearly 5,000 people from across the city and elsewhere gathered to cheer and support Anna Hazare who went on a day's fast near Jantar Mantar on Sunday to demand a stronger Lokpal. But there were many who went back dejected. Shaswati Das reports.

Nearly 5,000 people from across the city and elsewhere gathered to cheer and support Anna Hazare who went on a day's fast near Jantar Mantar on Sunday to demand a stronger Lokpal. But there were many who went back dejected.

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Those who reached the protest venue after 4pm, entry had been sealed, leaving hundreds of supporters agitated. Not only there were no clear directions about the entry points from the Ashoka Road side, alongside Hotel Asian International or the Parliament Street side, but lack of directions to enter the venue led to greater chaos among supporters.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. Even the police officials didn't know where to let the people enter from. I shuttled back and forth from each entrance five times, only to be told that it was the incorrect entrance. Later, we were told that we won't be allowed to enter as the capacity was full," said Mukul Kumar, who had come from Ghaziabad.

While the main entry point at Parliament Street was cordoned off because of the stage set-up. The entry gates for the public were closed after police officials claimed that the number of supporters present had exceeded the permissible limit.

"There were more than 5,000 people and we had to limit the number of people going into the enclosure because it could have led to chaos within Jantar Mantar. We had to turn some of the supporters away because the space was not as open as Ramlila Ground and we didn't want security arrangements collapsing because of excess supporters," said a senior police official.