New Delhi

For the fourth day in a row, Delhi Metro stations around Jantar Mantar remained shut on Friday, forcing hundreds of students and protesters to swap Metro rides for long walks to the demonstration site. Somewhere between New Delhi Metro station and Minto Bridge, during what felt like an endless march, one protester remarked that it felt like the Dandi March.

Moments later, the group looked up to find a man dressed as Mahatma Gandhi walking alongside them.

The coincidence lasted only a few seconds. Laughter broke out, followed by cries of "Bapu ki jai". But for many making the journey to Jantar Mantar, ground zero of the Cockroach Janta Party protest, on foot, it became the defining image of days when Metro closures transformed thousands of commuters into marchers.

With the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) keeping 17 stations around Jantar Mantar shut for the third consecutive day on Friday, reaching the site has become a journey in itself.

It’s a familiar sight: students getting off at operational stations several kilometres away and continuing on foot, gradually forming long columns of people moving through the streets.

"We exited the railway station along with a group of protesters. As we started walking towards Minto Bridge, people kept joining. It genuinely felt like we were part of something much bigger," said Harshit Seth, who began his walk from New Delhi Metro station after discovering that stations closer to Jantar Mantar were closed.

As the hours pass by, the crowds on the pavements grow.

"The entire footpath is filled with protesters. Since Connaught Place had been closed after 6.30 pm on Thursday, we have almost taken over the streets. Looking around, I told the people walking with me, 'Yaar, it actually feels like we're in a Satyagraha. It feels like we're on the Dandi March’," said Seth.

Then came the unexpected moment.

"As if on cue, we looked up and there was a man dressed as Mahatma Gandhi walking with the protesters under Minto Bridge. Everyone burst into laughter. Almost instinctively, we shouted, 'Bapu ki jai ho!' It's one of those moments I'll never forget."

Metro restrictions have widened steadily through the week. Five stations around central Delhi were initially closed on Monday as the CJP held its "Sansad Chalo" march. By Wednesday, the number rose to 17 stations around Jantar Mantar. The restrictions remained in place on Friday, disrupting one of the capital's busiest transport corridors.

The closures affected far more than those heading to the protest. Office-goers, shoppers and other commuters found themselves navigating traffic diversions, overcrowded interchange stations and sharply higher auto-rickshaw and cab fares.

Late on Thursday night, the DMRC announced that only three of the 17 affected stations had reopened, with the remaining stations staying shut until further notice.

The update drew criticism online.

"Everyone has reached home, you can close them again," one social media user wrote, mocking the late-night announcement.

Another alleged that authorities were "deliberately inconveniencing ordinary people by blocking their movement just to turn public sentiment against the protesters."

Yet among protesters, there was a common view that while the Metro closures had complicated the journey, they had not reduced participation.

"Apart from people travelling for personal reasons, it is also affecting those heading to work. When key interchange stations are shut, passengers are pushed towards fewer alternatives, creating overcrowding, delays and confusion," said protester Shubham Kumar.

"But people who genuinely want to participate are still reaching the site round the clock. I don't think Metro closures are stopping anyone who wants to be here."

Rohit Ranjan, another protester, said the restrictions had made reaching Jantar Mantar more difficult but had failed to discourage people from turning up.

"I understand that suspending Metro services makes it much harder for people to reach the protest site. It certainly causes inconvenience, and in a democracy, restricting public transport around peaceful protests raises important questions," he said.

"But people are still coming. If the last 12 years have taught us anything, it's that inconvenience alone doesn't stop people from raising their voices."

Communication has also become difficult as internet services remained suspended in several areas around the protest site.

"Mostly through normal phone calls whenever the network worked, but even that was difficult. With internet services suspended, coordinating with people isn't easy," Ranjan said.

For Seth, the walk eventually became more than just a journey to the protest.

After watching videos of the police action against students on Monday, he arrived carrying a small supply of medicines. Holding a placard reading "Medicine Seva", he distributed painkillers, bandages, sprays, ointments and ORS to protesters suffering from dehydration, exhaustion and muscle pain after hours on the road.

He has teamed up with Aaqid, a medical student from Chhattisgarh, to help rebuild a damaged medical counter. Doctors from RML Hospital, nurses and medical students have joined the effort, expanding it into a volunteer-run medical stall that also handed out honey tablets to soothe voices made hoarse by hours of sloganeering.

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The unprecedented closure on Metro stations has made the protest site harder to reach. But it has also produced an unexpected sight - thousands of students and citizens walking together through Delhi, turning an interrupted commute into a procession, and making the journey as memorable as the destination.