Shopkeepers call 2-day bandh over loss during Gujjar stir

A day after the Gujjars called off their 8-day long agitation over demands of five per cent quota in government jobs, the shopkeepers in Sikandara town of Dausa called for a two-day shutdown of the market against the loss incurred by them during the agitation.

"We demand compensation from the state government for the losses incurred by us during the Gujjar agitation. Most of the shops were closed today. The bandh will continue tomorrow as well," Yogesh Gupta, a local shopkeeper, said.

According to the police, few shops were opened and the shopkeepers were assessing their loss.

The Gujjars had blocked the Agra-Jaipur National Highway – 11 passing through the Sikandara town and allegedly ransacked a few shops.

They began their agitation on Thursday last week and blocked Delhi-Mumbai railway tracks in Bharatpur and later blocked Agra-Jaipur national highway in Dausa and a state highway in Sawaimadhopur leading to the cancellation and diversion of many trains and disruption on road traffic.

Four districts of Bharatpur, Karauli, Sawaimadhopur and Dausa were affected due to the agitation.

The agitators, however, put an end to their protest after an assurance by the state government yesterday that a recommendation regarding their demands will be made to the Centre to get the legislation listed in the ninth Schedule of the Constitution.

Traffic on the Agra-Jaipur national highway and a state highway in Sawaimadhopur resumed today while the Delhi-Mumbai tracks were also cleared.