Jat stir: NH blocked at Jassia

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Jassia (Rohtak), February 12

The Rohtak-Panipat stretch of National Highway 71-A was blocked at Jassia village for several hours and traffic had to be diverted to other routes as the crowd at the ‘Jat Nyay Dharna’ swelled.

The police had a tough time regulating the vehicular traffic as the agitators arriving at the dharna site parked their vehicles on the highway, leading to traffic jam.

Raising slogans, agitating youths moved towards the dharna site in cavalcades of tractor-trailers, cars and motorcycles amid presence of police and paramilitary forces.

Addressing the agitators, All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) leader Yashpal Malik announced that ‘Balidan Divas’ would be observed on February 19 to pay homage to those who were killed during the agitation last February.

He maintained that if their demands were not met by then, they would intensify the agitation. “The mode of agitation will change with effect from February 19 if our demands are not met,” he stated.

The AIJASS leader asserted that they would not block any road or railway track, but would “bring an earthquake in Haryana”. Talks might also be discontinued if the state authorities did not proceed positively, he said.

On being approached for comments later, Malik said the future strategy would be planned in consultation with the dharna committees and community members, adding that the further course of action would be revealed on February 19.