Ahir Morcha protest causes traffic snarls on Delhi-Jaipur Expressway

 A proposed vehicle march from the Kherki Daula toll plaza to Iffco Chowk called by the Ahir community demanding the formation of an 'Ahir Regiment' in the Indian Army disrupted traffic on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway (NH-48) on Sunday.

The protesters forced the Kherki Daula toll plaza to go free from 7 a.m.

Manoj Yadav, an active member of the Ahir Morcha said, they will submit to the deputy commissioner a memorandum addressed to the President, Prime Minister and the Defence Minister.

After submitting it, the rally will proceed towards Iffco Chowk and will return to the protesting site near the Kherki Daula toll plaza.

The Ahir Morcha has been protesting at the Kherki Daula toll plaza since February.

However, Sunday's rally led to traffic congestion on the stretch between Kherki Daula and Iffco Chowk. But the traffic snarls were relatively thin due to the absence of office goers.

But despite this, commuters faced traffic congestion on the National Highway as the Gurugram Police had diverted the route.

Commuters had a harrowing time as the protesters along with vehicles were spread from the Kherki Daula toll plaza to Iffco Chowk on the carriageway.

Gurugram Police had put up barricades at several entry points on the National Highway, at Shankar Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Signature Tower, Rajiv Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk on the Expressway to keep a vigil on the protesters.

As a result, traffic going towards Delhi was particularly slow and long queues of vehicles were witnessed at the major traffic points on the Expressway.

Traffic police officials said that movement on the Expressway was slow due to the protest, even though they took several measures to avoid any congestion.

"We were updating the people from time to time about the traffic situation in Gurugram through our official social media handles," said Ravinder Tomar, DCP (traffic) said.

Traffic police had also issued an advisory for the commuters to avoid any inconvenience on the National Highway, but it seemed many commuters were unaware of the protest.

The protest was also joined by several protesters from neighbouring districts and states along with several village heads (Sarpanch).