Anti-CAA Stir: Delhi Metro Shuts Down 19 Stations

The Delhi Metro on Thursday closed the entry and exit gates of as many as 19 stations as thousands of people gathered at various venues across the city to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act despite massive police deployment and imposition of a ban on large gatherings.

The stations that have been affected are Jamia Millia Islamia, Jasola Vihar, Shaheen Bagh, Munirka, Lal Qila, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, Vishwavidyalaya, Patel Chowk, Lok Kalyan Marg, Udyog Bhavan, ITO, Pragati Maidan, Khan Market, Central Secretariat, Mandi House, Vasant Vihar, Janpath, and Barakhamba.

Delhi Metro authorities clarified that theinterchange facility at the Mandi House station is functional, eventhough its gates are shut.

According to reports, road traffic was also greatly affected, with vehicles clogged on roads stretching over kilometers as the authorities barricaded roads, imposed traffic restrictions and suspended Internet services to clamp down on planned protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. However, the Delhi-Gurgaon border was among the worst affected.

The police also imposed a ban on large gatherings under Section 144 of the CrPC near Red Fort in central Delhi, the starting point of one of the proposed rallies, and many protesters who came there were subsequently detained.

Various student groups, political parties, and rights activists have come out in protest against the controversial law, which aims to expedite citizenship for non-Muslim migrants. While protesters in the Northeast claim that it will open the floodgates for illegal migrants into the region, those in other parts of the country have denounced it as "discriminatory".