Trains set ablaze, buses damaged across India as Agnipath protests spread despite Centre’s ease

Protests over ‘Agnipath‘, the recruitment scheme introduced for youth to serve in the Armed Forces, continued for the third straight day despite Centre’s age relaxation.

The scheme triggered violence in several parts of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana. In Bihar’s Samastipur and Lakhisarai, armed forces aspirants set fire to two trains .

The violent protests flared hours after the defence ministry announced a one-time waiver for the upper-age limit of the recruits from 21 to 23 which hugely targeted the Centre’s move over the Agnipath recruitment scheme.

Uttar Pradesh

In UP’s Ballia railway station, a massive crowd gathered to protest against the scheme. “Some students tried to break the window panes and set fire to an empty isolated train in Ballia railway station. The attempts to douse the flames are underway,” a source told the news agency ANI.

A UP Roadways bus was damaged by students on Agra Lucknow ExpressWay within limits of Matsena police station in Firozabad district.

Security was beefed up in varied locations on the Yamuna ExpressWay, a 165 kilometer long fast track, linking Agra with Noida.

Bihar

Two bogies of Saharsa Darbhanga passenger train were set ablaze in Supaul. Even bogies of the Darbhanga-New Delhi Sampark Kranti express was set on fire.

Secuderabad

A train was set ablaze in Secunderabad railway station, forcing South Central railway authorities to stop all trains to the city.

A number of opposition political parties and a significant number of military experts have also slammed the scheme, saying it will adversely impact the functioning of the armed forces.

The scheme

The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force was projected by the government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services.

After the scheme was rolled out, the Army said it would ensure an enhanced youthful profile of the force and result in a “reduction in the average age from 32 to 26 years over a period of time”.

The three service chiefs have also strongly backed the scheme and said it was unveiled after over two years of deliberations.

Military officials said with the infusion of technology and revamping of the training programme, the armed forces would ensure that the personnel inducted under the scheme have the same skill sets that are required to meet the operational challenges.

The monthly salary of an “Agniveer” in the first year of employment would be Rs 30,000 and the in-hand amount would be Rs 21,000 as Rs 9,000 would go to a corpus with an equal contribution from the government.

Subsequently, the monthly salary in the second, third and fourth year will be Rs 33,000, Rs 36,500 and Rs 40,000.

Each “Agniveer” will get an amount of Rs 11.71 lakh as the “Seva Nidhi Package” and it will be exempted from income tax.

The recruitment process under the Agnipath scheme would start in 90 days.

The scheme is also expected to cut the ballooning salary and pension bills of the armed forces as there will be no entitlement to gratuity and pensionary benefits.