Ujjain: ‘Bharat Bandh’ gets mass support, no untoward incident reported in city

Ujjain:  The SPAKS organised ‘Bharat Bandh’ received a huge support in the city and all over the country on Tuesday. City markets witnessed a deserted look, as all the shops were closed willingly.

Upper castes, minority, backward classes and many other groups belonging to different castes observed the ‘Bharat Bandh’ to support the apex court’s dilution of the SC/ST Anti Atrocities Act, in the interest of justice and curbing misuse of the act.

SPAKS members demanded reservation for economically weaker sections of society. Members of all the organisations related to upper castes, backward castes and other minorities gathered at Chhatri Chowk at 9.30am and held a peace march to Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple. People joined the rally and demanded that the decision of the apex court be respected, and reservation be based on the economic conditions of the beneficiary. They also demanded to stop ignoring general and backward classes of society.

During the rally Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Samaj president Surendra Chaturvedi, Shivendra Tiwari, Dr Ghanshyam Sharma, Amrish Pathak, Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Mahasabha general secretary Anilsingh Chandel, Hardayalsingh Thakur, Sikh community head Surendrasingh Arora, US Chhabra, Kutub Fatemi, Hatimali Arharwala, Dinesh Shrivastava of Kayastha community,  Dinesh Shrivastava, Shailendra Vyas, saint Avadheshpuriji, Nisha Tripathi, Dhaneshwari Joshi, Arvind Jain and hundreds of supporters were present. Women also were seen in the rally holding placards with demands.

Businessmen shut their shops willingly. Shopkeepers at Gopal Mandir, Mahakal, Doulatgnaj, Indore Gate, Dewas Gate, Freeganj, Rishi Nagar and many areas of the city closed their shops in support of the ‘peaceful bandh’. A rally was held peacefully and no untoward instance was reported during the ‘bandh’ in the city.

The district administration remained on high alert all the day. The SPAKS was covered by a huge police force. SDM GS Dabur, SDM Kshitij Sharma,SP Sachin Atulkar and many police officials were also present in the  rally to maintain law and order. Members of the SPAKS ‘rendered’ a memorandum of their demands to Lord Mahakal. Schools and colleges of the city remained open during the ‘bandh’.