Lahore-Delhi Bus Service suspended
LAHORE/ NEW DELHI, February 21: Lahore-Delhi ‘Dosti Bus Service’ has been suspended at India’s request in the wake of cast violence in Haryana that has killed at least 10 people and injured over 150 others during the past week, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) said on Sunday.
“The Indian government has requested us to suspend the Lahore-Delhi Dosti Bus service till the situation in Haryana comes under control. We [Pakistan and India governments] have mutually decided to suspend the Dosti Bus Service,” PTDC Manager Col (retd) Khalid said while speaking to the media.
He said the service will resume after a clearance from the Indian government.
20 passengers had booked seats to travel to New Delhi on Monday, all of whom have been notified of the postponement, said the manager.
The protesting Jat community have cutoff water supply to New Delhi, the capital of India which is gearing up to face severe shortage of water in coming days. Scheduled exams have been postponed and water has been rationed.
Curfew has been imposed in the Indian state of Haryana due to the arson and agitation by the protesters, leading to suspension of roads and railway service.
In a bid to defuse the tension and prevent anymore damages to roads and public and private properties, the Indian government has also blocked the national highway and internet services besides imposing a ban on mobile phone service and gathering of more than four people at one place.
However, the Jat community has refused to hold talks with the government before acceptance of their demands.
Meanwhile, ten people have died in caste protests which triggered widespread arson and looting in a north Indian state Haryana, police said Sunday, as New Delhi faced a water crisis after mobs shut down a key supply.
Thousands of troops with shoot-on-sight orders were deployed on Saturday in Haryana, a day after week-long protests turned violent with rioters setting fire to homes and railway stations and blocking highways. Ten people have been killed and about 150 injured in the state since Friday when officers fired on rioters, Haryana police chief Yash Pal Singal told a press conference, updating earlier estimates of five dead. Television images showed mobs wielding sticks rampaging through the streets in Haryana state, setting fire to a local government minister’s house and railway stations, damaging train tracks and blocking two key highways. Smaller protests broke out in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state, which also borders Delhi, late on Saturday, as hundreds of Jat demonstrators blocked a main highway.-SABAH/Agencies
