Railway runs special train for the stranded

Ambala: The railways will run a special train (02450) from Chandigarh to Anand Vihar station in Delhi via Saharanupur on Tuesday to ease the rush of passengers stranded at Chandigarh, Ambala and nearby cities due to the Jat agitation. The train will depart from Chandigarh at 11 am on Tuesday and reach Anand Vihar via Saharanpur. Similarly, another train (02449) will run from Anand Vihar station in Delhi to Chandigarh via Saharanpur at 11:30 pm on Tuesday. TNS

GRP registers 17 cases for damage to property

Ambala: The Government Railway Police (GRP) have registered 17 cases against the protesters who damaged the railway property during the Jat agitation. Six cases have been registered in Jind, three each in Rewari and Sonepat, two in Bahadurgarh while one each in Hisar, Kurukshetra and Gurgaon. “The GRP has limited resources but is making all efforts to deal with the situation,” said an official. “A goods train was set ablaze today. The matter is being investigated and a case will be registered,” said a spokesperson from the GRP. Rakesh Kumar Arya, Superintendent of Police (Railways), said, “Necessary directions have been given to the GRP officials and action will be taken.” The Railways said yesterday that agitators had burnt 10 railway stations, damaged two engines and uprooted tracks at several places.

Losses mount as state buses remain off road

Ambala: The roadways buses kept stationed at the local depot today as a precautionary measure. Buses could not ply towards Delhi, Kaithal and Jind, however, bus service to Himachal Pradesh and Punjab remained normal. The depot has a fleet of around 200 buses and earns daily revenue of Rs 10 lakhs. It has suffered a loss of Rs 50 lakhs in the last week due to road blockades. Roadways buses from the Naraingarh depot too have been shifted to Ambala for safety reasons. 

Pak, India to extend visas of those stuck 

Islamabad: India and Pakistan on Monday decided to extend visas of citizens stranded in each other's country due to protests by Jats in Haryana that led to the suspension of trans-border bus and train services. Pakistan Foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said currently the Samjhauta Express train and Dosti bus services are suspended which has created problems for the Pakistanis who are currently in India and intend to return home. He said that its High Commission in New Delhi was in touch with Indian authorities for the assistance of stranded Pakistanis. 

Army airlifts 29 foreigners from Rohtak

Ambala: The Army’s II Corps based at the Ambala Cantonment has evacuated 29 foreigners, including 26 Japanese and three Swedish nationals from Rohtak. They were airlifted to Delhi on February 20-21. Several people stuck on NH-1 were also ferried to various places in Army trucks. Meanwhile, The Army has been allowed access to the Jaipur Civil Airport to conduct its services in view of the road and rail blockades in Haryana by Jats. Jaipur airport Director BK Tailang said the Army was allowed to use the airport located in Sanganer for its chopper or aircraft services to desired locations and destinations. TNS

Jat agitation spreads to eastern Rajasthan 

Bharatpur: The Jat agitation on Monday had its echo in eastern Rajasthan where protesters damaged two buses and blocked railway tracks and highway, prompting the district administration to impose prohibitory orders. The protesters in the morning burnt a roadways bus near Dhormui oil depot and damaged another bus in Sewar area. "Deeg, Jaipur and Mathura highways and Jaipur and Mumbai railway tracks are closed," Additional SP Bharat Lal Meena said. IG Alok Vashistha said prohibitory orders have been imposed in the district to maintain law and order and additional police force has been rushed to the affected areas. PTI

509 booked for damaging Chhotu Ram’s statue

Kaithal: As many as 509 persons have been booked for damaging the statute of Sir Chhotu Ram here on Sunday. Of these, nine are named. ASI Prem Singh of the Kaithal police had lodged a complaint in this regard. The case has been registered under Sections 148, 149, 188 and 295-A of the IPC. Among the named persons are Bhagat Ram Saini, Palaram Saini, Suresh Saini, Wazir, Sunil Saini, Krishan Kashyap, Dharam Bir Saini, Kapil Sharma and Ashish Garg Kashyap. TNS

‘Protesters known to me torched my showroom’ 

Bhiwani: Dev Raj Goyal, alias Toshamiya, had heard of horror tales from his ancestors, but he himself witnessed similar scenes on Sunday, when Jat protesters went on rampage in his motorcycle showroom and set it on fire. Toshamiya (50), said: “Being Sunday, my showroom was closed and I was standing opposite to it. A group of nearly 50-60 protesters armed with iron rods and farm tools came and barged into the showroom by breaking the iron shutter." A majority of the protesters from nearby villages were well acquainted with him, he said, adding that some of them fled with new motorcycles while others damaged the property. "Since I am active in the public life for the past three decades, I got inputs about the movement of the protesters and informed the police nearly an hour in advance, but the police suggested me to save life instead of worrying about the property," he said. Toshamiya said all his hard earned savings and assets had turned into ashes. — Sat Singh

Arson victim recounts damage to godown 

Rohtak: Yogesh Kumar Arora (50), a businessman running a tent house, was standing in front of his house in Sector 1  on February 20. Around 5 pm, I got a call from the watchman at my godown located on the Gohana road near the Makdauli toll plaza on the outskirts of Rohtak town. He informed me that some masked youths had forcibly entered the godown, thrashed him and two labourers present there had taken  away some articles. Before decamping with the articles, they poured kerosene /petrol on the furniture, carpets, wooden panels, tents and decorative articles and put the godown on fire. They also threatened the watchman with dire consequences if he tried to douse the fire. When the godown caught fire, they left  on their motorcycle and a tractor-trailer. I could not visit the spot immediately as I was told that the area was under a siege. I went there next day following which I assessed the damage and later lodged an online complaint with the police. I have suffered a loss to the tune of Rs 1 crore, which includes the damage caused to the building. As the state government has announced to compensate traders suffering losses, I am hopeful of compensation. — Sunit Dhawan

1,300 booked in Palwal, Faridabad

Faridabad: As many as 1,300 persons have been booked in connection with the Jat stir in Faridabad and Palwal districts. No arrests have been made so far.   "The police have identified 300 protesters in the district and charged them with disrupting traffic on highways near Jharsently and Seekri villages (National Highway-2) and damaging public property on Sunday," said Subash Yadav, Police Commissioner, Faridabad.  In Palwal, the police have registered cases against 1,000 persons for allegedly blocking road and rail tracks. TNS

There was a director behind the stir: Vij

Ambala: Health Minister Anil Vij said on Saturday that "with the audio clip of Prof Virender coming into light, it is clear that there was a director behind this agitation." Anil Vij said: “The state government had already given an assurance to the Jat leaders but the clip has made it clear that the entire agitation was being directed.  The clip will be verified and action taken against the guilty.” The minister said: “The government will compensate the victims and act against the guilty.”  TNs

Indo-Pak bus, rail services hit

Attari: The Samjhauta Express and other buses running between India and Pakistan were cancelled on Monday as the rail and land routes connecting the countries were hit by the ongoing Jat stir. Samjhauta Express, that was scheduled to arrive in India from the Wagah railway station of Lahore, was cancelled on Monday. The Pakistan railway authority was informed well in time about the disruption of rail traffic in India due to massive protests on the railway tracks and G T Road National Highway, an official said.

INLD demands President's rule

Chandigarh: The INLD today demanded dismissal of the Khattar Government  and imposition of President’s rule on the state for its failure to maintain law and order in Haryana. A memorandum to this effect was submitted to Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki by a delegation of the party led by Leader of the Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala. The memorandum alleged that the BJP Government had failed to discharge its constitutional duty of maintaining law and order in the state during the Jat agitation. Earlier, Chautala demanded a judicial inquiry into issues related to the Jat agitation and a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and government jobs to next of kin of the those killed in the quota  violence. TNS

Hisar resident turns saviour 

Hisar: A 60-year-old man from Daiman village in Fatehabad district remained stuck in Hisar town for two days without food and shelter before Good Samaritan Hemant Kumar, a local resident, provided him with food and arranged his journey to Dhamana village in Bhiwani on Monday. Kumar said he met the elderly person lying on a bench in the Sabji Mandi park . “I sensed that he was in trouble and inquired about him. He revealed that he started for Mahendragarh to meet his ailing grandson on February 19 from his native village in Fatehabad. He boarded the Hisar-Rewari passenger train via Rajgarh. But he railway authorities announced its cancellation around 1.30 pm”, Kumar said. The elderly man informed Kumar that he could not find a dhaba or any other shop open in the town and thus stayed at the railway station overnight. “He told me he got some fruits on Saturday and Sunday and remained confined at the railway station as there was no shop open”. 

Meerut road proves lifeline for commuters

Karnal: Amid a chaotic condition on the National Highway-1, the Meerut road in the city proved a lifeline for commuters going or coming back from Delhi. Since the NH-1 was blocked at several places in Sonepat, the Karnal police diverted the traffic heading towards Delhi via the Meerut road, which passed through Shamli, Kairana and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, and gave the much needed relief to the commuters who were trapped at several places on the GT Road for the past two days. However, the road was also blocked at several places on the Karnal-UP border in Haryana as well as in UP yesterday, but it was opened today and the police diverted the Delhi-bound vehicles on the road. Sources in the police said hundreds of vehicles passed through the road on Monday. 

Fresh supply from Delhi pulls down veggie rates 

Ambala: After an astronomical rise, the prices of vegetables have started dropping again in the district as the stock begins to arrive from Delhi. Mohandeep, a vegetable wholesaler, said, “Due to the Jat stir, there were earlier no supplies from Delhi that led to low availability of several vegetables in the market. Following this, the prices of ginger which were earlier ruling around Rs 30 per kg in the wholesale market had increased to Rs 90 per kg.” “After being sold at this price till Monday morning, it dropped to Rs 40 per kg in the afternoon as the trucks that got stuck on the highway during the agitation reached here. Similarly, green chilli dropped to Rs 20 per kg from Rs 80 and lady finger dropped to Rs 35 from Rs 80 per kg. The prices of several other vegetables, including bitter gourd, have also come down by almost 50 per cent,” he said. While wholesale prices of these vegetables were ruling between Rs 80 to Rs 90 per kg, retail rates were Rs 120 per kg. A box of 4 kg grapes was quoted at Rs 300 in the morning while after the fresh supply, it was being sold at Rs 180 in the evening.

HHRO forms SIT to probe losses 

Chandigarh: The  Haryana Human Rights Organisation (HHRO) on Monday constituted a  three-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe the 16 deaths and destruction of property worth crores due to the Jat stir. It demanded FIRs into each case of death and compensation to the victims whose properties had been damaged by the arsonists. The SIT members are RTI activist PP Kapoor,  Sunil Jaglan and advocate Utsav Singh Bains (Apna Ghar Rohtak petitioner). The SIT will submit a detailed report within 15 days. The SIT would submit a list of the damaged properties to the government for compensation.

Traders wait for normalcy to return

Rohtak: Though the Jat protesters have lifted blockades from all roads of the district, traders and shopkeepers at the Quila road market are waiting for complete restoration of normalcy before opening their business establishments. Considered the heart of Rohtak city, the market is famous for readymade garments and cosmetic items. “We don’t want to face another loss by opening our shops under tensed situation,” said Vijay Kumar, a shop owner. Many shopkeepers had shifted their valuable items to safer places in order to protect it from the unruly mob that ransacked and torched several shops.

Industrial city Panipat incurs losses worth crores

Panipat: Industrial city has been witnessing a huge loss owing to the Jat stir. Since no train or buses are plying, most of the businessmen have stopped the production and the supply of goods. “The agitation has affected our business. We have no customers. Since no trains and buses are plying, we are not able to send goods to the buyers,” said Pankaj Aneja, a manufacturer of blankets. The Railways said it had been witnessing a loss of Rs 7 lakh per day. The Roadways is also facing a loss of Rs 10-12 lakh per day. “All buses are parked in the depot and the department is witnessing a huge loss,” said MS Kharab, GM, Roadways.

Out for wedding, teacher has harrowing time

Chandigarh: There seems no end to miseries of common people despite the state government’s claims that it has found a solution to the Jat quota issue. Believing the government’s assurances, Shamim Sharma, principal of Mata Harki Devi College at Odhan in Sirsa, started her journey to Gurgaon with her family to attend a wedding. “As we reached the outskirts of Hisar, cops advised us to return, saying that we may find blockades ahead,” she said. However, she asked her driver to take another route via Raipur, Kharar and Barwala road to reach Hansi. On her way from Hansi towards Rohtak, she learnt that the SDM’s vehicle had been torched at Meham town. “We diverted from Mudhal towards Bhiwani Bhairo village to take the road to Gurgaon. However, we found trees lying on the road at several places. We were advised to return whenever we stopped to ask someone the way,” she said. Finally, when Meham was still 10 km away, she decided to give in and returned