Sanjay Yadav
Gurugram, June 16
Hundreds of youth took to the streets in protest against the ‘Agniveer’ recruitment scheme in the army, there has been a stir in Rewari as well as in Bilaspur, Sidhravali areas of Gurugram.
Protesters have virtually occupied bus stands and roads on the Gurugram-Jaipur highway, disrupting traffic. There is a big protest of the youth at Bilaspur Chowk. As the crowd is increasing, the shops are being forced to close, resulting in breakdown of law and order.
“Due to local protests, traffic has been diverted at Bilaspur Chowk (NH-48). All passengers using this route have been requested to take alternate routes,” said the Gurugram traffic police in its advisory.
“Our traffic officers are on the job and making sure that there is no big rush. DCP Traffic Ravinder Singh Tomar said, wherever necessary, diversion has been done.
The situation in Rewari is getting dire, especially in the bus stand area where the markets are shutting down. In protest against the plan, the youth removed the barricades and blocked the road outside the bus stand. The mob pelted stones at the police. The police had to resort to mild lathi-charge in retaliation to disperse the violent mob. Senior police have reached the spot to pacify the protesters.
Capt Ajay Yadav, an ex-serviceman and senior Congress leader, issued a statement saying that the objective of the scheme is to dilute the spirit of the army and cut down on the benefits being given to the army personnel.
“Army is not a profession but passion and life. Every year our districts like Rewari send their sons to serve the country and this dilutes their passion. There are over 4 lakh vacancies in the Army and this cheap attempt to give them small contract jobs is unacceptable,’ Yadav said.