To spread the message of peace and communal harmony, around 200 residents of riot affected jahangirpuri On Sunday, a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ was taken out in the area with the tricolor hoisting in shops and homes in the area to mark the event.
The yatra began at around 6 pm, with both Hindu and Muslim residents holding the tricolor and raising “like” slogans. Hindu Muslim Sikh Christian is brother to each other” And ” Long live Mother India,
The march, which included both the elderly and children, began with c-block Roundabout in front of Kushal Cinema, after which it moved towards B Block market. The crowd eventually headed towards the Hindu-majority G Block and ended the journey after about 30 minutes.
Members of the local RWA also joined the march. The tricolor was also hoisted outside the premises in most of the shops and houses in the area.
Amjad Ali, a resident of C-Block, said he had sent his children to join the yatra and hoisted the flag above his house and his chicken shop to show support for peace in the area.
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“I came to know that such travel was being done in the area three days back, so I have sent my children to be a part of it… in the area,” Ali said.
While marching with the group, a Muslim resident said that there would be no enmity and the two communities would live side by side, as it has been in all these years. “We are here like brothers and we will live here like a family, as we have been doing for the last 40 years,” he said.
Businessman Rakesh Mehra said the march was “the first step towards peace” and that the perpetrators of the violence were “outsiders”. “Those who created disharmony here were all outsiders… A friend of mine was also injured in the clashes, but I want to forget what happened that day and spread the message of peace.”
DCP (Northwest) Usha Rangnani had said that adequate security arrangements have been made in the area to prevent breach of protocol. To ensure smooth movement of the crowd, the police had removed the barricades from the C-Block intersection during the march. Apart from the teams of Delhi Police, CRPF personnel were also deployed in the area.
The yatra comes days after communal violence erupted after a ‘shobha yatra’ was taken out to celebrate Hanuman Jayanti in the area in north west Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. Violence escalated in incidents of stone pelting and vandalism. Police have so far arrested 25 people and arrested two juveniles in connection with the incident.
Last week, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) launched an “anti-encroachment” campaign in the area and uprooted several shops, mostly belonging to Muslim residents of C-Block. The Supreme Court later ordered a status quo on the drive.