Big trouble for common man
The “Bharat Bandh” was supposed to be an effort on the part of the Opposition parties, particularly the BJP, to show that they care for the common man reeling under high price rise. However, as it turned out, the people on the road found it difficult to concur with the political parties’ views, caught as they were in some of the worst traffic
snarls, or forced to remain indoors for fear of violence. To add to their woes, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Kumar Malhotra said that the issue was more serious than people having to face jams for a few hours.
Though it was the traders who were apparently in complete support of the bandh, many seemed to have agreed for a close down for other reasons. “I decided to close my shop for the day because my staff boys were not willing to take risks of coming all the way from their homes to the shop. The public transport is disrupted and there are blockades all along,” said D.M. Arora, a trader from Chandni Chowk.
“I am in office since 6 am in the morning because my office anticipated disruptions on Monday morning and asked us to be in before the activists get going on the roads. I will have to be in office till evening,” said Sanjeev Kumar, working in a MNC at Connaught Place.
The situation was worse for those who got caught in the traffic snarls. “It took me more than two-and-a-half hours to reach Greater Kailash from Khanpur and only I know how I reached there. I had to walk a long distance on foot as there were no public transport available. It would have been better if I took a day off. But I was not sure whether the shop would open or not,” said Surender, working at a store in the market that was closed.
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