Capital Wheels Past Chakka Jam

50k Security Personnel At Sensitive Places; Several Metro Stations Closed

New Delhi: While the farmers’ unions had announced that they would preclude Delhi from their three-hour chakka jam, or road blockade, programme on Saturday, the city remained on high alert amid heavy security arrangements to prevent any attempt at lawlessness of the sort that marked the January 26 tractor rally. The day passed without incident in the capital.

“Traffic wasn’t disrupted and life went on as usual,” said Chinmoy Biswal, the public relations officer. A few preventive detentions were made, including of some people near Shahidi Park in central Delhi, who were preparing to demonstrate in support of the farmers’ call for chakka jam.

Around 50,000 security personnel from Delhi Police, reserve police forces and paramilitary forces and barricades and cranes were deployed at sensitive places like Akshardham Mandir, ITO, AIIMS, and Mukarba Chowk and at the various border crossing points. The Gurgaon border on the Mahipalpur had heavy barricading, resulting in a traffic jam that had a tailback stretching half a kilometer.