Rioting, blockade over power cuts in Hooda’s district

Rohtak (Haryana), Sep 2 (IANS) Fed up with power cuts, hundreds of villagers of Haryana’s Rohtak district, the home district of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, went on the rampage early Sunday and blocked a national highway for over 10 hours.

The rioting by villagers of the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi assembly constituency, represented by Hooda, left a Haryana Roadways bus burnt and several other vehicles, including a police van, damaged.

They also blocked national highway number 10 between Hisar and New Delhi.

Police and district administration officials said that the blockade was lifted after nearly 10 hours.

Commuters on the highway had a harrowing time due to the agitation. For several hours, they were forced to use other roads to avoid the riot-prone area.

The protest by the villagers started around 10 p.m. Saturday but the rioting took place around 1 a.m. Sunday following long and unscheduled power cuts in their area in the last few days.

The blockade was lifted only after the power supply was restored.

IANS 2012-09-02 19:32:36