Violence-torn Haryana is limping back to normalcy following the ten-day long Jat quota stir which left 28 dead and more than 200 injured.
Curfew was on Wednesday lifted completely from Hisar and Jind cities though prohibitory orders under Section 144 banning assembly of five or more people will remain in force. Curfew was also relaxed in violence-hit Rohtak and Bhiwani districts while rail and road traffic resumed on routes which had remained blocked for more than a week.
Day-long relaxation in curfew was given in Rohtak, the epicentre of the Jat quota agitation in Haryana, where extensive damage has been caused to property that includes destruction of many shops, showrooms, hotels, malls and vehicles. The situation remained peaceful in Rohtak city, according to police officials. Both Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who visited Rohtak on Tuesday, had to face the ire of traders and shopkeepers, who had suffered heavy losses.
life was also returning to normal in violence-hit Sonipat, where three persons had died in a clash with security forces two days back. Shops and business establishments, which survived the wrath of the Jat community rioters in the last few days, opened in Rohtak, Bhiwani, Jind, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Hisar, Panipat and other districts. The traders, businessmen, companies and Government officials have started assessing the damage to immovable and movable property during the peak of the violence in the State.
Several Government buildings, private shops, malls, educational institutions, hospitals and showrooms were set on fire by the hooligans during Jat agitation while hundreds of shops were also looted. Experts have pegged the losses in Haryana due to the agitation at around `32,000 crore.
The bus services for the national Capital from Chandigarh also resumed on Wednesday. Nearly 82 buses left for Delhi from the inter-State bus terminus (SBT), Sector 17 by noon. The buses are normally plying on the Delhi-Ambala Highway, days after the services were suspended following the Jat quota stir. The State-run Himachal Road Transport Corp (HRTC) on Wednesday also restarted bus services to Delhi and Haryana following restoration of traffic on all highways.
The Shatabdi Express trains also chugged off the Chandigarh railway station on their scheduled time. A railway spokesman said that train service from Hisar has also been resumed to various destinations, including Delhi, Bhiwani, Rewari, Jaipur, Sadulpur and Ganganagar following removal of blockades and safety clearance of the tracks.
Soldiers and paramilitary forces continued to be deployed in the worst affected areas. Security forces are patrolling sensitive areas including Bhiwani, Hisar, Sonipat and Rohtak, informed officials.
Haryana Government has constituted a one-man commission under Prakash Singh, a retired IPS officer to probe into the alleged failure and inaction of civil and police officials during the Jat agitation which turned violent resulting in losses of hundreds of crores in the state. The Commission will submit the report within 45 days.
Meanwhile, a meeting of Haryana BJP MPs was held in Delhi under Union Minister Venkiah Naidu on Wednesday to examine the issue of giving reservation to Jat community in jobs and educational institutions.
Union ministers and BJP leaders from Haryana namely Birender Singh, Rao Inderjit Singh, Suresh Prabhu and other leaders like Anil Jain, Subhash Barala, Raj Kumar Saini, Rattan lal Kataria among others were present in the meeting.
Soon after the meeting ended, Rao Inderjit and Raj Kumar Saini said the OBC quota of 27 per cent reservation should not be tampered with. On the other hand, Anil Jain said that everybody shall be given justice and law will take its own course. “Union Minister Venkian Naidu has listened to all the leaders. The issue of Jat reservation is judiciary and socially complicated. Jats would be given reservation but how much and when… the committee would decide it,” Jain added.
The Chief Minister Khattar who returned to Chandigarh after meeting Venkian Naidu a day before in New Delhi, has been advised complete bed rest for the next few days by the doctors. Khattar underwent an MRI scan at Panchkula’s General Hospital after he complained of acute pain in his spine.