In what turned out to be an anti-climax, the Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday reopened a key route that links Noida with Delhi's Kalindi Kunj but only for a few minutes. Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh which lies next to the road that links Kalindi Kunj have led to cops shutting down the entire stretch for over two months now. This has led to congestion on the routes linking Delhi to Noida.
On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh Police removed the barricades on the stretch from Noida's Mahamaya flyover to Delhi and Faridabad. However, the relief turned out to be short lived with police saying that the road was opened only to clear the passage of a bus. The barricades were restored minutes after the road was reopened.
The stretch of Shaheen Bagh to Kalindi Kunj road which is about two to three kilometres has commercial centres housing shops and restaurants. The road ends at Atlanta Water Park. The Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj road is parallel to the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway which is used by a large number of commuters between Delhi and Noida.
Even as protesters claimed that the all the roads that are close to Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj road like the GD Birla road, Kalindi Kunj bridge, Amrapali Road, Okhla Barrage Road, Okhla Bird Sanctuary Road, Dadri main road and Noida-Greater Noida Expressway were open, the attention shifted to Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch.
Advocate Amit Sahni had earlier approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which was blocked by anti-CAA protesters on December 15 last year.
ALSO WATCH| Is BJP villianising Shaheen Bagh?