Gurgaon relieved after decision to delay Jat stir

Jat leaders have assured on Sunday to pull out of the proposed march to Delhi on Monday after discussions with the government.

After uncertainty over the proposed Jat agitation in Delhi ended with the leaders calling off the strike, residents, especially parents and students, were a relieved lot on Sunday evening.

All restrictions planned for the Delhi metro train services from Monday have been lifted. (HT Photo)

Aditi Khemani from Bangalore who studies at Jindal Global University in Sonepat had to stay over at a friend’s house in Gurgaon anticipating trouble on Monday. “My college campus is in Sonepat, a half-hour drive from the Delhi-Haryana border. We always use the metro train to travel to the city. This weekend though, the potential Jat riots and highway blockages left a lot of us stranded in New Delhi.... The students who were still on campus were also not allowed to travel to New Delhi, and we were informed that Monday’s classes have been cancelled... When the Jat agitations happened this time last year, I was stranded for a week,” Aditi said.

After learning that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had decided to indefinitely stop the metro services outside New Delhi from 11.30 pm on Sunday, following Delhi police directions, many Gurgaon residents had temporarily shifted to the national capital.

Anita Manoharan of Uniworld Gardens II in Sector 47 had packed her luggage and moved to Moti Bagh in New Delhi, where her parents live, on Sunday. Anita works at a private NGO in Green Park.

After learning that the proposed agitation has been called off, she took a cab back to her Gurgaon residence.

“The strike has been an unnecessary hassle as I had to make two pointless trips between New Delhi and Gurgaon. Most of my office files and basic belongings were kept at home. Although my parents’ house is closer to work, I prefer having things in place and, thus, decided to head home,” Anita said.

Manisha Sinha’s 18-year-old son Tanmay is appearing for the class 12 examination at RK Puram, New Delhi. Manisha had been fretting over the possible blockade at the Delhi border. “If roads to New Delhi were blocked, I do not know how my son would have appeared for the next examination. The unnecessary confusion had added stress to my son’s preparations but the decision is a great relief,” Manisha said.