Police disperse striking traders in New Delhi

November 1, 2006

The Delhi Police used lathi(baton)-charges to disrupt striking traders when they gathered in large numbers and attempted to block traffic on the city's streets  on Wednesday morning. The 2-day old strike, protesting a Supreme Court order to seal unauthorised commercial establishments in the city, turned to a more violent note with protestors stranded several buses by puncturing their tyres.

The Supreme Court's Monitoring committee sent a notice to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Tuesday to resume the sealing of unauthorised shops from November 2. Initially, the sealing drive was to resume on November 1.

Private medical practitioners also joined the protest on its final day, which affected health services in the city. The traders threatened to extend their strike if MCD resumes its sealing drive.

The first two days of the strike went peacefully without having any serious violence. Traders were expecting the government to meet their demands. They met Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit to resolve this dispute.