Act In Public Interest: Delhi HC Directs Police To Look Into Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh Road Blockage

The Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch (between Mathura Road and Kalindi Kunj) and Okhla underpass, has been closed since December 15, due to ongoing protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

NEW DELHI, INDIA - JANUARY 12: Demonstrators during an indefinite sit-in against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) seen at Shaheen Bagh, on January 12, 2020 in New Delhi, India. / (Getty Images)

New Delhi: Delhi High Court, after hearing the petition seeking to withdraw closure of Delhi's Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, has asked concerned authorities to look into the matter in larger public interest and deal with issue of maintaining law and order. The  Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch (between Mathura Road and Kalindi Kunj) and Okhla underpass, has been closed since December 15, due to ongoing protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The High Court on Friday had refused to entertain a petition seeking removal of police barricades in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area contending that it is causing traffic issues, and demanding that protesters be shifted to some other location. Watch: Advocate explains what happened in HC The plea was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar which listed it for hearing on Tuesday. Scores of protesters have been agitating in the area against the CAA and NRC for over a month now. Barricades have been put in place to keep the stir in control. The road the petitioner has alluded to is widely used by office-goers and other commuters. The road closure is causing huge inconvenience/ hardship to lakhs of commuters everyday and they are compelled to take different routes for last one month, the petition has said. The Delhi Police has time and again issued an advisory regarding closure or obstruction due to traffic in the area. The Kalindi Kunj stretch is quite crucial as it connects Delhi, Faridabad (Haryana) and Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and commuters who use these roads are forced to take alternative routes Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Expressway and Ashram, which is causing hours of traffic jams and wastage of time and fuel, it said. The plea said children, who take that route, are compelled to leave home two hours prior to school timing. Due to the heavy traffic on alternative routes, it takes 15-20 minutes for people to cross just one traffic signal at Ashram, it said. Citing several news reports, it said that on an average, Ashram Chowk is used by around 30,000 vehicles every day. With the Kalindi Kunj road closure, an additional 1 lakh vehicles are flowing through the intersection. (inputs from agencies)