Around 200 JMM workers blocked the main gate of Jusco office in Northern Town, Bistupur, for over two hours on Friday, causing inconvenience to people who had turned up for various services starting from vaccination of infants to submission of electricity and water bills.
The blockade was staged in protest against Jusco's demolition of illegal shops and houses at BH Area near Ganesh Puja Maidan in Kadma on Wednesday. The JMM supporters later met Tata Steel subsidiary's general manager (town services) Dhananjay Mishra, apprising him of the threat to the livelihood of poor people, who used to run the makeshift shops. They also threatened of a larger agitation if an alternative site to do business was not provided to the affected vendors.
Speaking to The Telegraph, JMM district spokesperson Babar Khan said they would continue with their agitation for the "social cause".
"Before carrying out the demolition, Jusco should have provided an alternative site to the shopkeepers, who had been doing their business in that area for nearly four decades. We have given an ultimatum to the company officials to make alternative arrangements for them. Otherwise, we will be compelled to launch an agitation on a bigger scale," Khan added.
What Khan & Co. failed or chose to notice was that the worst sufferers of their agitation were common people like mothers who had brought their infants for vaccination at the Jusco public health unit, which functions from the corporate office, and elderly persons, who came to deposit electricity and water bills.
"I could not enter through the gate due to the blockade. I waited for nearly half-an-hour with my six-month-old baby in the hot and humid weather and eventually, returned home. I will have to come again tomorrow (Saturday). Political parties are free to protest, but should not block gates and create hassles for commoners," said Smitha Tiwary, a homemaker from Baradwari.
A 62-year-old retired Tata Steel employee, Gautam Das, who wanted to deposit electricity and water bills, faced a similar ordeal.
"The agitators stopped me at the gate. After waiting in this heat for so long, I lost my patience and came back. It was a sheer wastage of time and energy. As I'm not a tech-savvy person, I prefer to pay the bills at the counters rather than doing so online," Das said.
Jusco spokesperson Rajesh Rajan said the shops and houses at BH Area were demolished to facilitate widening of Inner Circle Road and construction of a park in the vacant area. "We told the JMM protesters that the projects had received a no-objection from the district administration and the local residents have no problem. We will go ahead with it," Rajan said.
