Farmers Movement Archive

Tractor rally: Railings uprooted, 40 buses, trucks damaged

NEW DELHI: A mob targeted around 40 buses, uprooted the railings on the central verge, broke road dividers and other public properties during the farmers’ rally on Tuesday. Sources said 35 buses of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and five buses engaged under the Cluster Scheme were damaged by the violent protesters. “On Tuesday morning, 1,975 buses were scheduled to be deployed as demand was expected to be low due to the national holiday. Of these, 16 buses belonging to depots such as Sarojini Nagar, Wazirpur, Ghazipur, etc, got damaged. In view of this, only 900 buses were deployed in the evening,” a source said. The source added, “In most cases, the windshields of DTC buses were damaged, but they will be back on the road after repairs. Despite route diversions and plans to avoid border areas, a few buses got stuck in the protests, particularly at ITO.” Among the five Cluster Scheme buses, three were damaged at Uttam Nagar, one near Akshardham and one at GTB Nagar. “Mainly windshields of the buses got damaged,” said an official of Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS). The mob damaged grilles and slabs on the central verge of roads to allow entry of tractors on barricaded stretches. A senior PWD official said, “Property damage was reported mostly on the stretch between ITO and Red Fort. Some of the road dividers were also damaged by the protesters.” The area officials concerned were alerted about the damage. “Since the protest was ongoing, the officials were yet to visit the spots. Once our engineers see the damage, we will be able to ascertain the cost to be incurred to repair them,” said the official. North Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Jai Prakash said, “The incidents took place as the farmers deviated from their designated routes. Those coming from Singhu border even damaged 3-4 trucks parked outside Bhalswa landfill site on their way to Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar. We are yet to get the report about damage done to municipal property at the transport nagar.”

The Times of India

2021-01-27

Delhi