By Sanjeev Kumar Singh Chauhan
New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS): After Shaheen Bagh, a key site of the anti-CAA and NRC stir, Nizamuddin area in the national capital could become the another hotbed of protests.
Around 500 people have gathered at a spot in the area, set up tents and are camping there since Sunday. It could clog the vehicular movement on the Barapullah flyover, creating traffic snarls on both sides of it.
"We are protesting in a peaceful manner without causing inconvenience to anyone," is the common refrain of protestors.
The protesters, mostly residents of the rural pockets of Nizamuddin, had gathered there, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), south-east, Chinmoy Biswal told IANS on Monday.
Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik has been briefed about Nizamuddin protests. Since the matter is considered "sensitive", no police officer is willing to talk about it.
On being asked, DCP Biswal said it was "peaceful". Around 300-400 women and children were sitting in a park, he said and added, the main road was open.
The Delhi Police brass is facing a challenging task to make protesters understand that the sit-in could create traffic jams, routes diversion and closure of roads causing inconvenience to commuters.
Due to the Shaheen Bagh protests, the traffic on the Noida-Delhi road that passes through Sarita Vihar, Kalindi Kunj and DND flyway has been affected. The police have put up barricades on the Noida-Kalindi Kunj-Sarita Vihar route.
According to intelligence sources, the protest, in due course, may grow bigger and spill over on to roads. And if that happens, Barapullah flyover would be affected.
A Nizamuddin police station officer said, "The instruction is to keep an eye on the protesters and ensure they don't get any opportunity to create disturbances."
When the police on Sunday tried to prevent protesters from setting up tents, the women confronted the cops. "We are not here to cause any damage. We will just sit peacefully. Without tents, it will be difficult for us and children during the cold nights," one woman said. On Monday, despite the police objections, tents sprang up on the spot.