india

Updated: Aug 15, 2019 07:43 IST

Three days after violence erupted in parts of Jaipur between members of two different communities after some pilgrims were attacked, an uneasy calm prevailed in the Walled City on Wednesday, with many residents wondering if they will be able to celebrate Independence Day and rakshabandhan.

The clashes on Sunday was followed by further violence the next day with miscreants allegedly throwing stones on Kanwariya pilgrims. On Tuesday too there was confrontation between members of both the communities. “Why are people fighting and throwing stones at each other”, asked Rukmani Devi (72), a resident of the Gangapole, which already has a heavy deployment of security forces. “The city is famous for its spirit of brotherhood. People from across the world come here and appreciate the way all the communities live here peacefully but the incidents in last three days have dented our image,” she said.

Residents lashed out at the police for the poor management of law and order. “The situation was allowed to deteriorate. Vehicles got damaged many were injured in the stone throwing. Locals had alerted the police for additional forces and security during Eid. But the authorities didn’t take the input seriously ,” said Tanveer Khan (49), resident of Ramganj. A government employee living in the Walled City, who requested anonymity, said that even after the heavy deployment of police, some people were still moving around in the area at night taking advantage of the lack of visibility due to the absence of street lights.

“We have been told to remain alert and stay inside our houses. Some people flee the area taking advantages of narrows lanes after creating nuisance. The children are afraid of what is happening,” he said. Business was also affected due to communal tension. Amit Agarwal (35), who owns clothing shop in Laxmi Narayanpuri area said their business was also affected due to nuisance by some fringe elements. “This year I expected that we will have bumper sale as Independence day and rakshabandhan are on the same day. But due to violence in the last three days, people are afraid of coming out of their home,” he said.