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VHP activists stop trains, block traffic

– Photo: Praveen Kumar

Saffron power: Shiv Sena activists stop a train during a protest in Meerut on Wednesday in support of the transfer of land to Amarnath Shrine Board.

CHANDIGARH: The residents of the City Beautiful, especially the morning hour commuters, had to face harrowing time as they were caught in traffic jams on the arterial Madhya Marg where VHP activists blocked traffic between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. over the Amarnath land issue.

Even though the Chandigarh Police diverted traffic coming from Tribune Chowk towards the Madhya Marg through the Industrial area, the narrow road connecting up to the Railway Station was virtually choked with vehicles coming from all sides. Many commuters tried to take detours and those going to Panchkula took the longer National Highway route which passes through Zirakpur in Punjab.

Reports from Ambala said that a 70-year-old heart patient died on way to the hospital in Ambala thanks to the traffic jam. He had complained of a stomach ache and was being taken to the hospital by his relatives when the ambulance in which they were travelling was caught in the traffic jam for over an hour.

Staff Correspondent adds from Dehra Dun: The two-hour chakka jam call of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to protest against the cancellation of the land allotted to the Amarnath Shrine Board by the Jammu and Kashmir Government evoked a mixed response here on Wednesday.

Later, a large number of ruling BJP workers led by the party’s State in charge Anil Jain and former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiary were detained and sent to police lines as they marched towards the Raj Bhawan to submit a memorandum addressed to the President seeking her intervention on the issue.

The district administration had ordered closure of all educational institutions much to the chagrin of the students and parents.

PTI adds from Lucknow: VHP activists on Wednesday stopped trains and blocked road traffic in different parts of Uttar Pradesh . About 20 to 25 VHP activists stopped the Bagh Express near the Badshah Nagar railway station here.

A group of 40 to 50 activists blocked traffic at the busy Husainganj crossing for about half an hour police said adding that about 10 activists were taken into custody.

Meanwhile, Sangh Parivar activists blocked the New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi express near Agra on Wednesday morning for about 45 minutes.

Commuters in Kanpur had a harrowing time as activists of the VHP and other saffron organisations gave a bandh call demanding the restoration of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.

The protesters started the blockade at 9 a.m. at major crossroads of the city, which resulted in traffic congestion.

Jaipur: The nationwide ‘chakka jam’ agitation passed off peacefully here on Wednesday. Slogan-shouting supporters of the Sangh Parivar assembled in different parts of the state. “There is no report of any untoward incident from the state yet,” said Additional Director General of Police M C Meena. - PTI

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