Normal life, business hampered as CAA protest intensifies

New Delhi: The roads of Jamia Nagar leading up to Nai Sadak at Okhla has been witnessing an eerie silence since December 15, when peaceful protests over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NRC turned violent as police used tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. Sitting in his shop, 30-year-old Mohammad Irfan, sits in a corner watching the news.

"This whole area used to be so crowded, there was no place to walk. But people have a fear to open their shops now. Anything can happen," said the owner of a juice shop at Tikona Park. With a family of three to feed, Irfan, who hails from Uttar Pradesh said that the incident has inflicted fear upon the common masses. He also averred that the shops that usually open till 10 pm, now open for a few hours.

"There was a lot of tension on December 15, and we all closed our shops early, however, in the evening things got out of hand," he said adding that he has no other choice but to open his shop. "We need to feed our families are the only reason I open the shop," he added.

As the area of Jamia still recovers from the violence of that fateful night, a handful of people can be seen walking on the road. Once in a while, group of people take out march and walk towards Jamia Millia Islamia, where a massive protest has been going on.

But since that Sunday, the locals have shut down their shops in fear that violence can hamper their shops. Nazeer Ahmed, who runs a medical shop has said that since December 15, he has not opened his shop for full hours. "We open the shop late and close it early, due to the ongoing violence," he said.

The 51-year-old shopkeeper's shop has been running from the past 20 years and said he hasn't seen so much violence in the national Capital. Meanwhile, walking past the Jamia Nagar area, and entering Nai Basti, a bunch of people sits huddled up talking to each other. All of them are either laborers or have shops in the vicinity.

Amresh Ismail, who hails from Bihar, is a painter, said that his business has affected due to the bandh. "Imagine the shops are closed from a week, the loss of business will definitely be huge," he said. On asking how long does he think before things go back to normal, Ismail replies, "Even if this protest was necessary, the business has been affected. I believe the shut down will continue for a week at least."

On the other hand, 26-year-old Shakeel Malik, who has a scrape shop in the vicinity and was on his way to join the protest said that the shops have been shut with a public consensus. "The poor will die as it is, we don't need a bill for that," he added.

Malik said that people have collectively decided to not open their shops. However, this has affected the normal lives of the people. "Just so people have food to eat, grocery shops open for a few hours so that people can buy and stock food," he said. With Delhi witnessing intense protests due to CAA and NRC, the lives of the people across the city are haywire.