Rail and road traffic was affected in various parts of Haryana as Jat protestors intensified their ongoing protest demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions under OBC category.
Continuing their protest for the third day demanding concrete steps from the State Government to fulfill their demands, the members of Jat community blocked the highways and roads in Rohtak-Jhajjar region and also extended their protest to Sonipat and other parts of Haryana on Tuesday.
According to the information, roads in Sampla region namely Sampla-Jhajjar, Sampla-Badli, Bahadurgarh-Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh-Beri have been blocked by the protestors.
Reports of Jats blocking roads in Rohtak, Sonepat, Gohana, Hisar were also received throughout the day. The roads have been blocked in more than 100 villages of Haryana.
The protesters had been blocking the NH-10 passing through Sampla town in Rohtak district from past three days. The rail traffic on the Rohtak-Delhi section has also taken a hit in the wake of agitation with many trains diverted. As per the reports, a large number of panches who were scheduled to attend the oath ceremony at Jhajjar could not attend the same due to traffic jam in the region.
UP-based chief of All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti Yashpal Malik on Tuesday said that the protest for demanding reservation for Jats would began early instead of proposed February 21 in Mayyar village.
The Jats want assurance and not hollow promises, he said.
Meanwhile, opposition party INlD has extended its support to agitating Jats and blamed the BJP Government for not being able to address the Jat reservation issue appropriately. Punjab and Haryana High Court had in July 2015 stayed the decision of the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda government to grant 10% reservation to Jats, Jat-Sikhs, Bishnois, Rors and Tyagis under the special backward classes (SBC) category.
In the agrarian milieu of Haryana, Jats come across as dominant community with over 26 percent of state’s electorate. Numerically, Jats inhabited five districts of Haryana namely Rohtak, Ambala, Karnal, Hisar and Gurgaon. Rohtak has a highest density of Jat population.
There are 25 to 30 Assembly seats (out of a total 90) in the state where Jat and Jat Sikh candidates are fielded in assembly polls as they affect the poll outcome.