Mass demonstrations by factory workers who wanted to raise their wages put Noida on its knees on Monday, drastically disrupting the normal lives in the NCR. This started as a labour agitation but turned out to be violent confrontations with cases of arson, stone-pelletings, and vandalisms being reported in various industrial regions.
The major centers included Phase-2, Sector 60, Sector 62 and Sector 84, where protesters burned down vehicles and destroyed property. The protests, which have continued in the last four days, were fueled during the peak hours causing massive traffic jam. Key highways such as the DND Flyway, Chilla border Delhi-Noida Link Road, and portions of NH-9 and NH-24 were congested and thousands of commuters were stuck.
With the situation getting out of control, Uttar Pradesh labour minister Anil Rajbhar claimed that there might be some conspiracy involved in the violence, claiming that connections to handlers in Pakistan were under investigation. He cited recent detention of suspected terrorists in Meerut and Noida, indicating that anti-national forces could be trying to disrupt the law and order in the state.
The police forces were also used heavily by authorities to control the affected areas to put things back under control. Top officials kept a keen eye on the situation, and the roads were opened and normalcy was restored.
The riots not only disrupted industrial activities, but also brought about a lot of inconvenience to office-going people and travellers to the railway station and the airport. Research is being conducted to find out the cause of the violence and confirm allegations of any external involvement.