Agra-Jaipur National Highway-21 in Bharatpur was blocked for more than 20 hours by the people of Mali, Saini, Kushwaha, and Maurya communities between Arora and Beri villages who were demanding 12 percent reservation.
Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner Sanwar Mal Verma issued orders to shut down the internet for 24 hours from midnight on Friday till midnight on Saturday. Following the order, mobile internet services have been suspended in the Nadbai, Vair, and Bhusawar blocks of the Bharatpur district.
As per the reports, after a day-long protest, about 500 people blocked the highway by placing stones and sat there on Friday night. These people remained present till late at night with sticks and kept shouting slogans. People are also demanding the release of the arrested protesters and the formation of a board like the Devnarayan Board constituted for Gurjars in the state.
The police had to stop the heavy vehicles at Uchhain Tiraha and had to divert the traffic. People going from Agra to Jaipur and Jaipur to Agra faced problems.
The spokesperson of the protesters DK Kushwaha said that the government deployed heavy police on National Highway 21 on Friday. We fought all day. Police used tear gas, and lathi-charged our people. Now there is resentment in the community.
"We are demanding 12 percent reservation and release of our people who were arrested on Friday but the government is not serious about our demands," said Kushwaha.
The Mal and Saini communities are already there in the OBC category, but they want 12 percent exclusive reservation for the community claiming that the community is backward.
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