More than 500 trains were cancelled and massive traffic jams were witnessed across Delhi-NCR on Monday as some organisations called for Bharat Bandh to protest against the Agnipath recruitment scheme.
The protests against the centre’s Agnipath scheme for defence recruitment have been going on in several parts of the country as the tri-service chiefs ruled out withdrawal of the scheme.
Indian Youth Congress workers stopped a train at the Shivaji Bridge railway station near Connaught Place in Delhi to protest against Agnipath defence recruitment scheme and the ED questioning of Rahul Gandhi. The track was cleared by police and security personnel and train movement resumed after about half an hour, sources said.
Several protesters were detained as police personnel tried to remove them from the tracks and the station, a senior police official added. “The government needs to rollback the Agniveer scheme. Youth Congress will fight for the unemployed youth this country who want to serve the country,” Youth Congress president Srinivas BV told reporters. IYC members also staged protests at nearby Connaught Place.
More than 500 trains were cancelled on Monday across the country with operations again disrupted by protests against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme. While 539 trains were affected, 529 trains were cancelled, including 181 mail/express trains and 348 passengers trains, the Railways said in a statement. The Railways also partially cancelled four mail/express trains.
Security has been beefed up in several states amid protests against Agnipath scheme. States including West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and others increased the security in view of the violence that happened last week.
Parts of Delhi witnessed massive traffic jams as the traffic police closed off several roads in view of the bandh. Massive traffic jams were witnessed at Delhi-Noida-Delhi flyway, Meerut Expressway, Anand Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan, Pragati Maidan and Delhi-Gurugram border.
Long queues of slow-moving vehicles were seen in these areas. Some commuters took to Twitter to share their plight. The Delhi Traffic Police, however, said their teams have been deployed at various spots to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
More protests were witnessed in parts of Haryana on Monday against Agnipath as armed forces aspirants blocked roads and demanded that the scheme be rolled back. In Fatehabad, a group of youth blocked the Lal Batti Chowk, while several others staged a protest on roads in Rohtak district.
The Congress had announced on Sunday that lakhs of party workers will continue peaceful protests on Monday against the “anti-youth” Agnipath scheme and Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald money laundering case.
The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of youths in the age bracket of 17-and-half to 21 years in the armed forces for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.
The traffic police also advised commuters to avoid Motilal Nehru Marg, Akbar Road, Janpath and Man Singh Road between 8 am and 12 pm. The ED probe against Gandhi, who appeared before the agency for the fourth time on Monday, pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.
The newspaper is published by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Private Limited.
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