Gujjars protest in Meerut, block rail traffic

The ongoing agitation by the Gujjar community in Rajasthan demanding five per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, on Wednesday found an echo in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district where protesters blocked rail tracks and disrupted traffic at the Sakoti Tanda railway station, police said.

An official told IANS that agitators from the Gujjar community had gathered at a local farmhouse earlier in the day and had taken out a procession raising anti-BJP slogans.

They then moved to Sakoti Tanda railway station blocking railway tracks and disrupting traffic.

Senior district and police officials tried but failed to get the agitating mob to vacate the tracks following which Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) have been deployed there to avoid any untoward incident.

Gujjar leader Atul Pradhan announced that an agitation had begun in western UP and would soon spread across all districts in the region.

--IANS

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