Delhi workers hoping to reach Gurgaon factories clash with police at border

According to those employed in Gurgaon industries and residing in Delhi, however, such confrontations have been a regular occurrence since the start of this month, with factories and offices in Gurgaon being allowed to open.




Violence broke out at Delhi’s Salahpur Majra village on the Delhi-Gurgaon border Wednesday morning, when workers from Delhi looking to reach industries and factories in Gurgaon were stopped at the border by Gurgaon Police due to restrictions on inter-state movement.

According to police, the incident occurred around 9 am.

“There was a large crowd of people who had gathered at the border because they wanted to cross into Gurgaon the reach their workplaces. However, they could not be allowed to enter because of the border sealing and the additional restrictions, since they did not have the required passes. An argument broke out over this, with the workers eventually getting violent,” said Subhash Boken, PRO of Gurgaon Police.

“There was some amount of stone pelting that took place, but none of the police personnel sustained any serious injuries. Further action will be taken as per the law,” he said.

A video of the incident shows a large crowd of people in a narrow lane of the village, standing not too faraway from a police team at the border. After a loud argument ensues, a woman picks up a stone and hurls it at one of the police personnel, only to be held back from repeating the act by another worker.

According to those employed in Gurgaon industries and residing in Delhi, however, such confrontations have been a regular occurrence since the start of this month, with factories and offices in Gurgaon being allowed to open but their workers being unable to make it to work because of restrictions on cross border movement.

Saurav, who works as a security guard at a factory in Udyog Vihar and resides in Kapasehra, said, “They have opened the industries and our employers naturally expect us to go to work, but we are not allowed to pass through. We have all been struggling to make ends meet since we have not been receiving wages because of the lockdown. Our factories are not operational and employers say they don’t have money to pay us. Everyone is desperate to resume work so that they can get paid, because of this there is conflict when people are stopped at the border. Some kind of minor violence tends to break out every two or three days.”

In its revised guidelines for lockdown 4.0, the district administration has allowed offices and industries to operate with 50 per cent and 100 per cent staff, respectively. However, restrictions remain on inter-state movement, barring for essential services and healthcare workers.

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