New Delhi: In view of the ‘Bharat Bandh’ call given by some organisations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s Agnipath recruitment scheme, a massive traffic jam was witnessed at the Delhi-Gurugram expressway on Monday. The traffic moved at a snail’s pace after the Delhi Police intensified checks on the border between the two cities, Asian News International (ANI) reported. The video posted by the news agency on Twitter showed rows of cars and buses stuck on the Sarhaul border at the Delhi-Gurugram expressway.
Similar scenes were witnessed near the Chilla border at the Noida-Delhi link road due to security checks by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
“We are ensuring that no protester can pass through here, we are coordinating with the Delhi Police,” ANI quoted Noida Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Ranvijay Singh as saying.
A nationwide call for Bharat Bandh comes after five days of violent agitation in around 10 states, including politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, against the Agnipath scheme.
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This comes after the three defence chiefs made it clear on Sunday that the scheme would not be rolled back.
After the Centre’s announcement of the Agnipath scheme, angry mobs, especially in Bihar, torched trains, vandalised railway stations, and damaged properties as they put pressure on the ruling dispensation to withdraw the same.
In the wake of the ongoing uproar by the military aspirants and the call for Bharat Bandh, the states have tightened their security.
The Agnipath scheme, announced earlier on June 14, provides for the recruitment of youth in the age bracket of 17-and-half to 21 years for only four years with a provision to retain 25 percent of them for 15 more years.
The Centre later extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
The youth joining the armed forces under Agnipath scheme will be known as Agniveers.
This scheme has, however, sparked protests in many parts of the country.
As protests continue unabated, various Union Ministries have announced job opportunities for the Agniveers after their four-year term ends.