Shaheen Bagh protest told to clear for traffic
For two weeks, protesters blocked Delhi-noida border; police have not given a deadline but several officers say they may use force if site not vacated soon
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police have written to protesters at Shaheen Bagh, directing them to stop their protests and vacate road 13A, which connects Delhi and Noida via Kalindi Kunj, claiming that the protest has led to the road being blocked for the past two weeks. While the police’s letter does not specify a deadline, several police officers, who did not wish to be named, said the protesters will be forcibly removed within a day or two if they continue to block the road. Protesters, however, said they would continue and were ready to be detained.
For the past 14 days, around 500 protesters have blocked the Delhi-noida border at Shaheen Bagh near Kalindi Kunj to protest the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and a possible pan-india National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise.
The protesters have set up a stage on the carriageway towards Noida from Sarita Vihar on road 13A, which has prompted the police to close all traffic towards Noida. Protesters also blocked the other carriageway, towards Delhi from Noida.
The blockade has led to snarls on Mathura road, Ring Road and the Delhi-noida Direct flyway throughout the day. All vehicles entering Delhi from Faridabad on Mathura Road have to stay on the latter and use the DND to enter Noida. Usually, such vehicles would take a turn towards Sarita Vihar and use road 13A to enter Noida.
The resulting traffic on Mathura Road and the DND flyway causes snarls on the Ring Road, from South Extension I and II markets towards DND flyway, prompting the Delhi traffic to issue advisories on alternative routes every morning.
Delhi Police issued the notice late Saturday night to the resident welfare and market associations of Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Nagar, Abul Fazal Enclave and Okhla. Copies of the notice were also pasted at the protest site. In the notice, police have explained that the road blockage has led to traffic jams at different places in south Delhi. Police have also said that ambulances and vehicles with patients visiting Apollo Hospital in Sarita Vihar from Noida have to take a detour towards DND just to enter Sarita Vihar.
When contacted, deputy commissioner of police (south east) Chinmoy Biswal did not detail when the protesters would be evicted, if at all. The officer said, “The notice was served after a number of meetings with local residents who conveyed the everyday problems they faced due to the road closure. We have told protestors to vacate the road. Legal action required will be taken in the time to come.”
Another senior officer, who did not wish to be named, said, during the police’s meeting with the local residents, some of the resident welfare association heads claimed that most of those who are protesting are not local residents. “We have circulated a notice in the area and the site of the protest. This is the first step. Their act has caused massive problems for the lakhs entering or leaving Delhi. If they do not respond, evicting them by force is the only option.”
However, on Sunday evening, protesters continued to block the road, and said they will continue their agitation. Sharjeel Imaam, a PHD scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, who has been at the Shaheen Bagh protest site from the first day, said, “We are not afraid of being detained. We will continue the sit-in protest here. Any decision on moving the protest to somewhere else, if taken, will be after January 1.”
Danish, another protester at Shaheen Bagh, said the police should have spoken to the agitators personally. “Many of us are yet to receive the notice. The police should have spoken to us than sending these diktats. We have no plans to relocate,” he said.