Traders protest turns violent, over 1,500 detained

New Delhi — Police detained over 1,500 traders from various parts of the capital Tuesday as reports of clashes, stone pelting, road blockades and buses being vandalised came in during the daylong strike to protest sealing of illegal shops.

Some of the worst affected areas were Karol Bagh, Green Park, Vikas Marg, Rohini, Shahadra, Malviya Nagar and Paharganj.

Officials said they had also stopped trucks carrying traders and their supporters to avoid people from gathering at one place. “These are precautionary measures so that traders do not resort to violence,” said a senior official.

While there were incidents of stone pelting in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar, policemen and traders clashed in Mandawali, Green Park, Rohini, Karol Bagh and Paharganj.

The windscreens of eight Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses were smashed in Mandawali, Mayur Vihar and Vikas Marg.

Angry traders said the city had come to a standstill because the government had failed to protect the interests of the people.

“It is a complete breakdown of the government and the administration. The traders have no option but to take extreme steps,” said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has indicated that there might be no sealing Tuesday.

“We have not received any direction from the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on sealing so far. Most probably there will be no sealing today,” said a top MCD official.

“The monitoring committee will meet later in the day and a decision will be taken thereafter,” the official said.

There had been no communication between the MCD and the committee as K.J. Rao, head of the court-appointed panel, was out of town Monday.

The Supreme Court had on Monday directed the government to immediately resume sealing operations.

The three-day traders’ strike last week took a violent turn and authorities are hoping that the same will not happen Tuesday. Schools in the capital are closed as are main markets, except for ones in New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) areas like Connaught Place and Khan Market.

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