New Delhi, Aug 9: Delhi Police on Tuesday used teargas and water cannons to disperse a large number of BJP Yuva Morcha activists who had tried to march towards Parliament to demand resignation of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.
The anti-government protest turned violent as activists clashed with police after trying to jump barricades and march towards the Parliament.
Activists of BJP's youth-wing Yuva Morcha pelted stones at police as the latter resisted their attempts to march towards the Parliament.
Police lobbed teargas shells and used force to bring the crowd under control.
The activists had marched from Ramlila Grounds to the Parliament as part of their ‘Parliament Gherao' against government's alleged inaction in handling corruption.
Several anti-government protests today threw traffic out of gear in central Delhi, putting commuters to inconvenience.
Vehicular movement on the Parliament Street, Ashoka Road, Barakhamba, Connaught Place, Ramlila Maidan and ITO were affected due to the protests.
The biggest among the protests was Yuva Morcha's rally against corruption during which the activists took out a march from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar.
Thousands of activists marched from Ramlila to Jantar Mantar in the afternoon. The traffic was held up at many places, as the vehicles carrying activists poured into the city from different parts of the country.
A senior police official said around 25-30,000 participants from Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Gujrat, MP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra assembled.
“The roads affected would be Connaught Place, JLN Marg, Tilak marg, Rajghat, Mandi House, Delhi Gate, Asaf Ali Marg, Netaji Subash Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Mathura Road, Bara Khamba, Road Parliament street, Sikandara Road and Ashoka Road,” a senior police official said.
To reduce the traffic burden, no buses, including chartered buses, were allowed on the Ranjit Singh Marg towards Gurunanak Chowk from Barakhamba side. Parking for the activists' vehicles was allowed at MCD underground parking at Asaf Ali Road, Mata Sundri Road, Jahangir Road, Government Press Area, DDU Marg, Power House Ground and Shanti Van Parking.
Goods' vehicles were diverted from Wazirabad T-Point, Chandagi Ram Akhara, ISBT Loop to Shahadra, Eastern Foot of ISBT Yamuna river Bridge, Laxmi Nagar T- Point, Nizamuddin Bridge Ring Road T-Point and Neela Gumbad near PS Nizamuddin.
Depending on traffic conditions, buses and private vehicles were diverted from ‘C' Hexagon - Tilak Marg, Mathura Road - Bhairon Road, Bagga Link, Dhaula Kuan, Dr. Dinesh Nandani Dalmia Chowk, Jhandewalan, Chatta Rail Chowk, Sunehri Masjid, Raj Ghat and New Darya Ganj Road.
A march carried out by people from Jaitapur to protest against nuclear power plant there, from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar and the protest by students' wing of CPI(ML) slowed down the traffic.
Ripple effect of traffic problem in central Delhi was also witnessed at Vikas Marg, which saw vehicular movement at a very slow place. PTI
