By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
An unruly mob on Sunday pelted stones and blocked trains and vehicular traffic when the police and forest department personnel tried to “remove encroachments” at Rishikesh in Uttarakhand on the order of the Supreme Court.
The stone pelting occurred when the police and forest teams were removing encroachments in Rishikesh on the orders of Supreme Court, a police statement said. Some people were also injured in the stone pelting incidents, police said.
However, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dehradun Ajai Singh reached the spot and persuaded the people to clear the railway tracks and highway following which the traffic was restored.
Following the order passed by the Supreme Court on December 22 in the case of the lease of reserved forest land, the Uttarakhand government has constituted an inquiry committee, which is conducting a survey of the forest land. During this process, local residents started a strong protest.
The people staged a sit-in on the railway tracks in the Mansa Devi area at 4 pm, stopping the Barmer Express bound for Rishikesh for four hours. Some people also blocked the road. Meanwhile, some people also pelted stones at the police and forest department teams.
The officers present at the spot tried to reason with the people, but they did not relent. Upon receiving the information, the SSP reached the spot and cleared the railway tracks and highway, restoring traffic.
To send a message that any situation would be dealt with strictly and to maintain law and order in the area, the police also conducted a flag march in the Shyampur area of Rishikesh.
The inquiry committee is required to submit its status report to the Supreme Court regarding the lease of 2866 acres of reserved forest land before January 5 next year. Despite the strong protests, the inquiry committee continued its on-site measurement work in areas such as Bapu Gram, Shivaji Nagar, Meera Nagar, Nandu Farm, Malviya Nagar, Amit Gram, and Mansa Devi.
The SSP said that those who are inciting the public against the inquiry committee’s actions for their own interests have been identified, and cases are being registered against them.