Street chaos, shutdown of Metro likely to continue

The AAP government’s protest on Monday in the national capital against the Delhi police caused massive traffic jams in central Delhi and forced the Metro to shut down four stations, causing inconvenience to the people. After much commotion, the Rapid Action Force was also called in at the venue of the protest led by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“AAP supporters, who are creating anarchy on the streets of Delhi, tried to heckle me,” claimed Mr Tewari whose car was stopped by the protesters. “It is unfortunate, the AAP knows they’ll not be able to deliver on the promises, so they are resorting to this gimmickry. It is high time that the AAP makes the transition from being agitators to administrators,” Mr Tewari hit out. “The AAP was not given a mandate by the people of Delhi to create anarchy,” he added.
At 9 am, the Delhi police shut down four Metro stations — Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhavan and Race Course. The operations at Patel Chowk and Race Course were resumed at 2.14 pm. “Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhavan Metro stations will remain closed on Tuesday also, till further notification,” a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation official informed. Office-goers had a hard time as auto-rickshaw drivers charged exorbitant rates.
During the closure, movement of interchange passengers was being allowed at the Central Secretariat Metro station and regulated exit of employees, with offices in the vicinity, was allowed in the morning after the verification of identity cards at Central Secretariat.
Office-goers had a hard time as auto-rickshaw drivers charged exorbitant rates. Commuters had to shell out five times the normal auto fare. Nitish Kapila, a graphic designer, said, “I generally take the Metro for commuting to Central Delhi. And today, I had to pay five times more in an auto and as it is auto-drivers do not go to crowded areas after traffic jams. It was even difficult to board an auto.”
Himanshi Matta, a young professional, said, “The AAP seems to be punishing me for voting for them. I am stranded. I cannot use the Metro, cannot drive in my own city.”