Deadly north India protests lead to New Delhi water crisis

Army had to use choppers to reach parts of blocked Rohtak district. Over 80 people have been admitted to various hospitals in the state, 30 of them on Saturday.

In Rohtak district, the center of the protests, a mob defied the security clampdown and set fire to a police station, a petrol pump, a community hall and shops, police said.

“My appeal is to restore peace and amity”. A group of people belonging to Saini community pelted stones at some shops near Jat Dharamshala Hansi and set a wine shop on fire, police added.

Singh said the situation was tense in the area and additional forces have been summoned to bring the situation under control. “The mob threw stones at Dhankar’s house, but no one was injured”, a police official said.

A police station and railway station was set on fire in Pillu Khera area of Safidon sub-division in Jind district. “Ten small and big railway stations have been burnt. Apart from this, 10 people, including some police personnel, were injured in district Jhajjar”, a state government spokesman said here.

“We admit that available forces were not deployed the way they should have been but we are trying to maintain law and order”, Singhal said.

In Gurgaon, Jat protesters blocked roads, leading to traffic jams and chaos in the city, adjoining the national capital. The army has been deployed in these districts and the situation was far from being under control.

“Injustice is being done to us”.

“No one should make such a statement which adversely affects the feeling of brotherhood”, Khattar said.

Fresh violence erupted overnight in a north Indian state in an escalating and deadly crisis over caste, as neighbouring New Delhi Sunday announced water rationing after rampaging mobs shut down a key supply.

Haryana state is ruled by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has come in for criticism of late for its perceived iron-fisted approach on sensitive issues.

Prices of flights from Chandigarh to Delhi were hovering between Rs.25,000 and Rs.55,000 for the one-hour journey.

As many as 72 trains have been cancelled while 22 have been partially cancelled by the railway authorities. Hundreds of passengers are stranded in Chandigarh and other parts of Punjab and Haryana.

The protests echo caste violence that swept the western state of Gujarat in August a year ago, leaving several dead.

Almost 550 trains were either cancelled or diverted since the agitation began a week ago.

The security personnel were dispatched from Delhi’s Safdarjung airfield in batches as the trouble-torn district was cut off by road and rail network due to protests by the Jat community demanding reservation.

Normal life has been paralysed in Haryana in view of Jat agitation, which has also been marred by incidents of violence. “The national highway-1 (NH-1) is blocked but efforts are on to get the blockade lifted”, Singhal said.

The delegation urged the home minister to ensure that justice is served to the community by the BJP government.

Sources said that discussion on bringing an ordinance on Jat reservation was also held in the meeting where Cabinet Ministers Anil Vij, Capt. Abhimanyu, Ram Bilas Sharma, Chief Secretary DS Dhesi among other officers were present. Rohtak, Bhiwani and Jhajjar towns were already under curfew since Friday evening.