Hisar/Jind, December 16
Agitating pro-quota Jat activists, who plan to lay a siege to the national capital and choke its supply of essential commodities, began their foot march from Hisar and Jind districts today.

By evening, most jathas from Hisar had reached Hansi, their first stopover en route Delhi. While the youth were seen marching on foot, the elderly Jats travelled on tractors.

“We will surround Delhi from all sides and block all entry and exit points to the Capital. Our activists coming from Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Jind and Rohtak will assemble at Bahadurgarh. Those from Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat and Sonipat will assemble at the Kundli border. Activists from Bawal, Gurgaon and Bhiwani will choke supply lines to Delhi from the Gurgaon side,” said Ram Bhagat Malik, president of the Jat Arakashan Sangharsh Samiti in Hisar.

He said the supply of milk, vegetables, fruits and all other essential items to Delhi would be stopped completely. He warned the government against making any attempts to stop them.

The Jats have rejected the Haryana Backward Classes Commission’s recommendation of 10 per cent quota in government jobs and educational institutions to them and four other castes - Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois and Tyagis.

In Hisar, activists assembled at the Kirtimaan Chowk and started their march towards Hansi. In Jind, the march was flagged off from Narwana town. Addressing the members of the first jatha, that comprised around 150 persons, leaders of the Jat Khap Mahapanchayat claimed that delay on the part of the state and the Centre had forced them to take such a step. Responding to a media query, Sube Singh, vice-president of Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti, said: “We want the state government to include us under the Other Backward Class category that has the benefit of 27 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutes. We will not put off the agitation till our demands are met. The agitation would be peaceful and non-violent.”

“We have asked the women to stay at home due to harsh weather,” he said. Kuldeep Dhanda, convener of the mahapanchayat, said the members of Bishnoi, Ror, Jat Sikh and Tyagi castes have been urged for their support.

Hawa Singh Sangwan, state president of All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti, said: "Representatives of the Samiti and khap panchayats have been invited by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his residence on December 17 to hold talks on the quota issue.” The police has been put on alert. Several companies of reserve police have been deployed to deal with any untoward incident.

The police said the routes likely to be taken by the protesters include Hansi-Mundal (NH-10), Dhanana to Bhiwani (link road), Lohuru to Dadri (link road), Narwana to Jind, Kandela to Jind, Bawal to Rewari and Kurukshetra to Karnal. Jind SSP Saurabh Singh claimed that adequate police force has been put in place. “We are closely monitoring the movement of jathas,” he said, adding that nobody would be allowed to take law and order into their hands. The jatha from Narwana will have a night stay at Baroda village in Jind on Sunday.