Jats heed HC order,clear railway tracks

Jats agitating to press their demand for job reservation cleared the railway tracks near Kafoorpur in UPs JP Nagar district.

Jats agitating to press their demand for job reservation Saturday cleared the railway tracks near Kafoorpur in UPs JP Nagar district,which they had blocked for the past 15 days,following a high court order,but threatened to renew the protests if their demand was not met.

The movement of trains on Lucknow-Delhi route is now restored. Everything is normal, said Additional Divisional Railway Manager of Moradabad division Ajay Kumar Singhal.

The agitation that began on March 5 had thrown train services out of gear,forcing the Railways to cancel some 400 trains,divert as many and short-terminate about 100 trains in Moradabad division.

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Taking suo motu cognisance of the public inconvenience caused by the agitation,the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had on Friday directed UP and the Centre to clear the tracks as well as the national highways blocked by the protesters.

The state government swung into action and sent the Principal Secretary (Home) and the DGP to the site Saturday morning. State minister Choudhari Laxmi Narain was also sent to talk to the protesters.

Chief Minister Mayawati claimed credit for clearing of the tracks. I am happy the Jats have cleared the railway tracks on my appeal, she said.

Later in the day,a group of leaders of the Akhil Bharatiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti,which is spearheading the agitation,led by its chief Yashpal Mallik,were flown to Delhi for a meeting with Home Minister P Chidambaram and Social Justice Minister Mukul Wasnik.

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The district administration asked the leaders to first hold talks with the state officials before leaving for Delhi. Later,the Principal Secretary (Home),the DGP and minister Laxmi Narain talked to them, said Sanjay Rana,a Jat leader.

After their meeting with the Union leaders,Mallik told The Sunday Express over the phone that the Central leadership has agreed to their demands.

However,we will continue our agitation as they are not offering a time-bound solution, he said,adding that rail blockade will continue in other states.

Rana said that although the railway tracks have been cleared,the agitation was not over. The agitators have now moved to the campus of a college from the railway tracks, he said.