Lockdown in Jaipur city as public transport goes off roads, internet shut
JAIPUR: Thank God it was a Sunday. No offices, no schools, no colleges. Otherwise the impact of lockdown of public transport would have been massive.
In view of the ANTI-CAA-NRC peace march by non-bjp parties, including the Congress, civil society organisations, traders bodies and others, public transport in the city came to a halt on Sunday. Police restricted operation of low-floor buses, autos, cabs, and metro until Sunday evening as a precautionary measure. Even state-run roadways buses ran on diverted routes, especially the ones coming from and going to Delhi and Agra.
Muslim organisations called for a meeting on MD Road to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed countrywide national register of citizens (NRC). Later, they marched to Albert Hall carrying placards against the new law a nd t he pr o posed NRC. At Albert Hall, it merged into a peace march to Gandhi Circle.
This affected traffic in the wal l e d c i t y a r e a s . P o l i c e restricted movement of threewheelers and mini buses in the walled city and nearby areas to prevent snarls.
About 25,000 autos run in the city, said auto association’s president Kuldeep Singh. “All of these were grounded on Sunday on Tonk Road, JLN Marg, railway station, Ajmeri Gate and MI Road,” he said. Similarly, the mini buses remained off the roads. Around 30,000 people commute by mini buses every day, said Ishwar Singh, president of mini bus association of route no. 55.
For t he f i rst t i me si nce i t began operations, Jaipur Metro also shut down its service from 8am to 5pm and deployed heavy f or c e o ut s i de i t s s t at i ons. Between Mansarover a nd Chandpole metro stations, around 15,000 people commute every day. A spokesperson of Jaipur Metro said the organisation earns around Rs 1 lakh every day.
More than 250 low-floor buses operating out of three depots – Sanganer, Vidhyadhar Nagar and Todi – were also grounded in view of the peach march. “About 200,000 people commute by these buses every day,” said an official of Jaipur City Transport Company Limited (JCTCL).
With low-floor buses, mini buses, autos off the road and metro shutting its operation, it was a virtual curfew in the city because people couldn’t find transport to travel. The roads looked deserted until around 4pm. Most of the roads in and around the walled city areas were shut for traffic, making things worse for people.
“I wanted to visit my parents in Ghee Walo Ka Rasta but I couldn’t go because I couldn’t find a transport,” said Alok Khandelwal, who lives on Tonk Road.
The internet was also shutdown from 6am, making it difficult for people to book cabs or motorcycles. Around 12,000 cabs and more than 8,000 motorcycles run through app-based hail services. All these remained grounded because of internet shutdown.
Markets in many areas also remained closed as market associations and traders’ bodies took part in the march.