Haryana saw a relatively calm day on Tuesday as Jat agitators seeking job quotas withdrew from the streets and national highways even as the deployment of army columns continued in the State.
After the nine-day Jat agitation that left 19 died and more than 200 injured, the highway and rail traffic was restored in the State even as security forces were on alert to foil clashes between Jats and non-Jats in the State.
Under fire for inept handling of the violent Jat agitation, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar was heckled and an angry crowd gheraoed his vehicle as he visited Jat dominated Rohtak district, the epicentre of the stir.
As soon as he reached Rohtak, the Chief Minister's car was gheraoed by angry people who raised slogans like “Haryana Police murdabad” to protest the state police's alleged failure in controlling the violent situation. The Chief Minister was also shown black flags. People also hooted against Khattar and demanded strict action against people who took the city to ransom.
Addressing the angry crowd, he promised that that the Government would compensate those who lost property in the agitation. Khattar also informed that 'dharnas' across the State had been lifted and blockades on all roads cleared.
later in the evening, the Chief Minister attended a meeting in New Delhi with Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkiaih Naidu and other ministers who are part of a high-powered panel studying the issue of reservation for Jats in other states.
Meanwhile, curfew was relaxed in Rohtak town and some other places in the state on Tuesday. The worst affected districts in the Jat agitation were Rohtak, Bhiwani, Hisar, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Jind, Panipat and Kaithal.
The traffic was also restored on the Delhi-Hisar NH-10, especially near Sampla town. “Army deployment in riot-affected areas of Haryana has entered the fourth day on Tuesday. Columns of the Kharga Corps of Western Command are now deployed in Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Kaithal, Rohtak and Bawana. Flag marches are being conducted along all sensitive areas in these districts," said a defence spokesman on Tuesday.
With day-to-day life limping back to normalcy after the Jat protests in Haryana, supply of fuel and cooking gas almost turned normal in most cities, except Sonipat, Hissar and Bhiwani - epicenter of the stir.
In the nine-day stir which saw arson and violence in several parts of the state, 26 petroleum outlets were also vandalized by mobs. Following this, the supplies of fuel and lPG were severely hit in the worst-affected areas — Rohtak, Bhiwnai, Jhajjar, Jind, Sonipat and Kaithal — and people had faced shortage of petrol, diesel, and domestic gas.
During the stir, mobs had vandalized several fuel pumps, causing damage to a total of 26 filling stations in Rohtak (7), Bhiwani (5), Jind (1), Sonipat (5), Panipat (2) and Jhajjar (6). Haryana gets lPG supplies from Panipat, Pyala and Gurgaon while supplies of petrol and diesel come from Bahadurgarh, Ambala, Panipat and Rewari, official said.
The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has pegged the loss to Haryana and other states due to the violence at Rs 34,000 crore.
The State Government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of the innocents killed in the agitation and employment to a member of the family of the deceased.