Nagpur Had Never Experienced Such Monday Blues. A Sea Of Protesters, Muscling Past Cops And Holding The City To Seize Had Nagpurians Stranded On Roads For Hours. TOI Panellists Discuss If Protest Venues Can Be Shifted Outside The City Without Muzzling The Voices Of RallyistsA blockage in heart disrupts blood flow to the entire body, which can be a life-threatening condition. On Monday, Nagpur’s heart, Samvidhan Square, was blocked by a sea of Gond-Gowari protesters, paralysing traffic for more than 10 hours and bringing the entire city on its knees.As per the panellists, a spot as small as Samvidhan Square can’t be an Azad Maidan or Jantar Mantar for the city. “The Ground Zero of the protest was inadequate to accommodate thousands of people,” said activist Dinesh Naidu adding. “If you turn pages of history, you will realize that the square was designated a protest site due to its proximity to Vidhan Bhavan. In other cities, the protest sites are huge, ensuring there are no traffic snarls.”Naidu felt Kasturchand Park can be the Azad Maidan of Nagpur. “It is hardly a stone’s throw from Samvidhan Square and can accommodate a huge crowd. What happened on Monday in Nagpur was unacceptable, and I am not blaming a particular community for it,” he said.Explaining the typical ‘morcha drill’ in the city, Naidu said, “The protesters meet at Yeshwant stadium from where they march to Variety Square, garland the statue of Mahatma Gandhi there before moving towards Samvidhan Square, where the crowd swells. If Kasturchand Park is designated as a protest site, it will lead to fewer traffic jams as it has Metro connectivity too,” he said.Krutika Umale, a student, said Gowaris can’t be blamed for the traffic jams. “Protest is a fundamental right. Nobody likes to protest in such an aggressive manner. Had the authorities and govt listened to their demands, the Gowaris would not have protested. And protesting at Samvidhan Square was necessary because that’s where everyone takes notice of you,” she said.Dr Parul Saoji, a gynaecologist, had a different view. “Protesting is a fundamental right, but not by holding the entire city to ransom. Even ambulances were stranded on Monday. Many outstation patients missed evening OPDs and even doctors got stuck in jams. Some of the outstation patients were forced to spend the night in the hospital waiting area. Protests should not hamper lives of innocent people,” said Dr Saoji.Mahendra Luley, vice-president of a transport association, said those who were travelling outside the city by buses were the most affected. “Many buses coming to Nagpur were delayed by more than three hours. Buses to Pune and other parts of Vidarbha had to be cancelled because of jams. The protest site saw nearly a stampede-like situation. With the 1994 tragedy at back of their mind, even cops exercised restraint while dealing with the agitators. They didn’t resort to lathicharge and handled the situation calmly,” Luley said.Naidu said more than a morcha, Monday’s protest was a chakka jam. “The protesters held many roads under seize. Some sat on the flyovers, forcing cops to shut them. Some protesters staged demonstrations on both sides of the road,” he said.Panellists said the broken bridge near Panchsheel Square aggravated the problem. “The road near Rahate Colony too was shut. Many traffic signals were not functioning. Traffic moving from north to south Nagpur suffered the most. It took me one and half hours to cover 1.5km from Congress Nagar to Dhantoli,” said Luley.But was it an intel failure on part of the cops? “Of course it was,” said Naidu while claiming that he had received information that lakhs of protesters were coming to Nagpur on Monday.“When even commoners knew about the massiveness of the protest, I refuse to believe that cops didn’t have any inkling about it. The police intelligence apparatus failed to gauge the inflow of tribals from adjoining districts,” said Neel Kanhere, a student of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College Of Law.“Cops are to be blamed for the sufferings of citizens. I can understand that the city has a new commissioner of police and many new officers too, but there should have been proper passing of baton. The protesters outnumbered the cops on Monday,” said Kanhere.Naidu said the city’s new CP is a PhD holder in crowd management and his first challenge came too soon. “Had someone apprised the CP of the situation in advance, I am sure he would have handled it in a better way,” he said. Luley said the cops were caught off-guard with no strategy in place to tackle the swelling crowd. Panellists said the city also suffered a huge financial loss on Monday. Vendors, hawkers, shopkeepers and online delivery portals — all bore the brunt of the traffic gridlock. “Fuel too was wasted as motorists were stuck in jams and took detour to reach their destinations,” they said.Some panellists felt the time has come to shift Nagpur’s morcha point outside the city. “Shifting protest sites to city’s outskirts is a good solution but the authorities need to make sure they meet and address the protesters there,” said Luley adding it shouldn’t be a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’.“Authorities need to realize that a protest isn’t judged by its numbers. Just because people have turned up in lakhs, doesn’t mean their cause is more genuine than a small group of students protesting outside a college,” said Naidu“Protests are okay even if staged in the city, but morchas are a big no,” felt panellists.(Debate anchored by Abhishek Choudhari)
Sudhanshu Bisen, 24, is a correspondent-cum-copy editor with The ...
Read MoreSudhanshu Bisen, 24, is a correspondent-cum-copy editor with The Times of India, Nagpur edition, looking after sports beat which includes covering various sporting events happening in the region. Sport runs through his veins and as most other 24-year-old will have it, he is always smitten by any kind of sporting activity going on either on television or in his city. His work takes him to various play-fields in and around the city. He believes in seeping in in the game he's covering and adds an emotional touch to his reports without being biased. He is passionate about his work and loves watching high quality games.\n\nThough meeting people is essential part of his work, Sudhanshu loves to keep away from crowd in personal life. Books are his best friend though he also loves playing guitar in spare time.
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