Jammu: A traffic management initiative by the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) at the Old Bus Stand snowballed into a major political controversy on Tuesday after BJP MLA Yudhvir Sethi joined protesting traders, allegedly removed newly installed barricades and poles, and later faced a counter-protest by New Bus Stand shopkeepers.
The controversy began during the intervening night when the JDA, in coordination with the revenue authorities, installed poles and barricading wires in the central portion of the Old Bus Stand to create a separate exit route for vehicles. Under the revised traffic arrangement, vehicles entering from the New Bus Stand side were directed to move straight and exit through the newly designated route.
The move sparked immediate opposition from traders of the Old Bus Stand, who alleged that diverting vehicles away from the market would severely impact business and the livelihoods of hundreds of shopkeepers. Led by Bus Stand Traders Association President Rajan Gupta, traders demanded the immediate rollback of the new arrangement, claiming it would further worsen business conditions in an already struggling market.
The protest gained political significance when Jammu East BJP MLA Yudhvir Sethi joined the demonstrators wearing a black band in solidarity with the traders. During the protest, Sethi allegedly removed and threw away the poles and barricading wires installed by the JDA.
Addressing the media, the MLA accused the administration of attempting to benefit a small section of traders at the cost of nearly 300 existing shopkeepers. He criticised the alleged late-night execution of the project and asserted that traders would not be displaced. Warning of intensified agitation, Sethi said larger protests could be organised if the administration failed to reconsider its decision.
However, the episode triggered an equally sharp reaction from another section of traders. Within hours, members of the New Bus Stand Shopkeepers Association, led by its president Vishal, staged a counter-protest against the BJP MLA. The protesters burnt Sethi’s effigy and raised slogans condemning his action of allegedly dismantling public infrastructure installed by the JDA.
Both demonstrations concluded peacefully, but the back-to-back protests underscored deep divisions among trader groups over the JDA’s traffic management plan. With political leaders now directly involved, the Bus Stand dispute has emerged as a significant civic and political issue in Jammu, placing the administration under pressure to find a solution acceptable to all stakeholders.
