Two hours on a scooty, a long walk from Nizamuddin after an auto ride, and a cab journey that went round in circles before finally dropping its passenger near the protest site -- people found different ways to reach central Delhi on Saturday, determined to raise their voices against alleged irregularities in voter rolls.
With roads leading to New Delhi barricaded, vehicles stopped or diverted and several metro stations shut, reaching the protest site at Jantar Mantar proved difficult for many. Buses continued to ply in parts of the city, but vehicles were not allowed into several areas of New Delhi.
At Tolstoy Marg, where the road leading towards Jantar Mantar was barricaded, a group of protesters who had managed to reach the spot stood around, occasionally breaking into slogans. As police personnel approached to detain them, some tried to run, only to be caught up in another round of detentions.
Meer, who travelled from Sarita Vihar on a scooty, said the journey had taken two hours and he had to park about three kilometres from the spot.
"We are the youth of this country. If we don't come, who will?" he said, explaining why he had made the effort despite the restrictions.
Safhana, a Delhi University student who lives in Laxmi Nagar, said she reached the area in an auto around 6 am, carrying food, water and other essentials. She had come with eight others.
Three women from their group were detained, she said, adding that they had managed to contact them but did not know which police station they had been taken to. "We ran," she said, describing the moments when protesters tried to evade the police.
Altamas, a student of Jamia Millia Islamia University, said he travelled through narrow lanes in an auto before being dropped near Nizamuddin. From there, he walked for around two hours to reach the protest area. "During British rule, we read about repression. Today, we are witnessing how repressive it can be," he said.
He said he had come not for himself but for the country, invoking former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's words that “governments will come and go, but the country must endure”.
"People must continue to believe in institutions," he said, stressing the importance of universal adult franchise.
For 21-year-old Harshit, the issue was also personal. He said he had applied for a voter ID card but was told he could not get one because of an address-related issue. He took a cab from the AIIMS area, but the driver kept taking detours before bringing him towards the protest site. The driver did not take payment immediately and asked him to pay after reaching home, Harshit said.
"We were sitting peacefully, but we were asked to move," he said, recalling how protesters were removed from the spot. He added that he had attended earlier protests as well.
The restrictions also affected people who were not participating in the demonstration.
A woman working with MTNL said she had walked from New Delhi to reach her workplace. She was on duty on the second Saturday of the month and had to report for essential services work.
While she was stopped at an intersection of Janpath and Connaught Place, where she walked from the New Delhi Railway Station for around 1.5 -2 kilometres, she was later allowed to go.
At Connaught Place, Nilesh Navlakha, a filmmaker from Pune, said he had travelled to Delhi because he felt he should witness what he believed was a historic moment.
Navlakha, who arrived on Friday evening and was staying at a hotel, said he had also been present at the June 6 protest. "The atmosphere that day and today is different. After the last success, people are motivated. The government is tough," he said.
He expressed concern over the closure of several metro stations and said he expected people to return if the protest continued the next day.
Among those detained from Connaught Place was Bharatiya Kisan Union national general secretary Yudhvir Singh, along with other protesters.
Not everyone who reached central Delhi had come with an organised group or a political affiliation. Suraj said he came with his father, who had kept his shop closed for the day, and was watching the protest unfold.
Lakhan, who travelled from Narela on his bike, said he had reached Connaught Place in the morning after dropping his mother at work. He said he had noticed restrictions on larger vehicles along the way.
"I am neither with the CJP nor the BJP. The question is, what response is being given when people raise their voices?" he said.
"The public is hungry. Answer their questions," he said, adding that people were more vulnerable to detention when they moved in groups.
He also acknowledged the position of the police. "They are also like our parents. They have to maintain law and order," he said.
Another protester, who said he had taken leave from work to attend the demonstration and had lived in Delhi since 1984, spoke of friends who had not received voter ID cards despite having lived in the city for years.
He said his friends had voted between 2000 and 2026 but were now worried they might not be able to vote in the next election because their names were missing from the electoral rolls.
"They are asking for our grandfathers' and great-grandfathers' identity documents," he said, describing the difficulties faced by people trying to establish their eligibility.
As police personnel moved in to detain protesters, one man was seen running away from the spot. "If they detain me, I will ask them to take me to Mathura," he joked.
(With inputs from PTI)
