Differently-abled people protest at Mandi House, traffic hit

Days after the Indian Railways virtually rejected almost all their demands, a group of disabled people claiming to be job aspirants in the national transporter threw traffic in disarray and caused inconvenience to commuters during peak hours.

The railways had said it has met all the requirements under the rules in the recruitment process of persons with disabilities, but is still trying to find ways to accommodate the disabled agitators who protested at Mandi House for jobs.

Under the rules, one per cent reservation against each of four disability categories has been provided as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, railway officials said.

This is the second time they have landed up in the national capital from various states and refused to go back unless their demands are met.

On October 23, around 200 differently-abled people staged a protest at Mandi House, demanding a meeting with railway officials.

Out of the 184 representations sent to the railways, around 21 candidates in the list had not even secured the relaxed minimum/ threshold pass score of 38 for UR and 28 for SC/ST/ OBC.

The other 163 candidates, though scoring above the minimum threshold of 38 and 28 for UR and SC/ ST/OBC respectively, were still far below in terms of merit position as compared to the last selected candidate in that disability category for the railways so far.

Traffic movement was hit in central Delhi on Tuesday again as differently-abled people who had applied for Group D railway jobs began protesting at Mandi House.

The protesters, who reached the national capital from different states on Nov 26, are staging a sit-in at Bhagwan Das Road which has been closed for traffic, a senior police officer said.

According to Delhi traffic police, the motorists were advised to take alternative routes.

"Due to demonstration at Mandi House roundabout, Sikandra Road and Bhagwan Das Road have been closed for traffic," the Delhi traffic police tweeted in Hindi.